site.btaBulgarian President Meets with European Council President in Munich

Dealing with the crises facing Europe requires boosting Europe's global competitiveness and guaranteeing EU security, President Rumen Radev said at a meeting with European Council President Antonio Costa on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference. The head of State stressed, as quoted by his press secretariat on Saturday, that the EU should take action to optimize the process of making its common decisions so that these respond to the high dynamics of international processes.

The numerous crises in Europe's neighbourhood make increasing investments in the defence and security sphere a necessity, but the capacities of each individual country should also be taken into account as to what percentage of its GDP it can allocate to this, the President stressed. 

In Radev's words, the stated ambition of the Western Balkan countries to join the EU is an opportunity to expand the space based on the principles of democracy and the rule of law and will strengthen regional stability. In this context, President Radev expressed hope that the Republic of North Macedonia will as soon as possible start the actual implementation of the European Consensus of 2022. Bulgaria does not make any new demands regarding that country's EU perspective but does not accept any changes in the agreements reached and enshrined in the negotiating framework, the head of State added.   

Earlier in the day, Radev held a meeting with the Director General of the European Space Agency (ESA), Josef Aschbacher, during which an overview was made of Bulgaria's partnership with ESA in space exploration. The necessary steps Bulgaria should take to fully participate in ESA's programmes and become a full member were also discussed.