site.btaEurope Must Uphold Its Positions and State Them Clearly and Openly - MEP Stanislav Stoyanov

Europe needs to state its foreign policy positions more clearly and defend its economic interests, MEP Stanislav Stoyanov (Vazrazhdane/Europe of Sovereign Nations) told journalists in Strasbourg. He stressed that the European Union must find its rightful place and be more active on the international stage.

"The European Union must find its place of dignity, defend its positions and state them clearly, openly, in a reasoned fashion, and fight for the prosperity of European nations. This is not happening at the moment. The European position is not being heard. The European Union is incompetent in foreign policy terms and fails to find solutions to the problems that surround us. Neither has it succeeded in curbing illegal migration, nor has it succeeded in combating the sources that generate illegal migration flows, nor has it succeeded in offering, for three years now, a solution to the biggest war in Europe since the Second World War. These are all unresolved issues that show how capable European foreign policy is."

Referring to his statement in the European Parliament in January that Trump's victory is a good chance for a more equal partnership between the European Union and the US, Stoyanov said that for these good things to happen for Europe and for European countries, somebody needs to come to the table and make the European position clear. "Let's hope that happens, at the moment I don't see the beginnings of such actions," he said. 

The MEP also commented on the state of European agriculture, stressing that excessive bureaucracy and regulations put European producers at a disadvantage compared to their competitors from third countries. 

"Our European agricultural produce cannot compete under these conditions, under these regulations, which must be respected with competitors from third countries. This is the answer that the European Commission must find," he said, adding that European agriculture has been bureaucratized. 

"Even now, regulations are being discussed and drafted which are preparing even more regulations, more complications for European farmers. At the moment, a regulation is being prepared for the transport of animals that wants to realise a more humane treatment of animals, more spaces are being provided in trucks. A vet is being provided for every loading and unloading operation, higher containers, which, however, means that virtually all slaughterhouses in the European Union have to be rebuilt, because they are currently working to one standard, and with a higher standard of containers, this means a lot of investment. Who will provide them? There is no answer to these questions," Stoyanov said.

Regarding Bulgaria's membership in the World Health Organization (WHO), Stoyanov expressed a categorically negative position. "The WHO is an organisation that does not work and it makes no sense to be a member where we cannot find solutions to our problems," he argued. 

Bulgaria invested in vaccines at the behest of the WHO, which were then thrown away because there was no one to use them. This cost the state budget BGN 145 million. Since Bulgaria obviously has a surplus of funds, we can easily waste the Bulgarian taxpayer's money at the WHO's behest," said Stoyanov, whose Vazrazhdane party was against the vaccines during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Stoyanov said he welcomed Donald Trump's decision to remove the US from the WHO.

Stoyanov also commented on the issue of Bulgaria's membership in the euro area, expressing doubts about the credibility of the data presented on the fulfilment of the Maastricht criteria. 

According to him, the government refused to hold a referendum on the issue, although all legal requirements for such a referendum were met. "We are left with the impression that in fact Bulgaria is being pushed into the eurozone against the will of the people," he added.