Bulgaria’s President Rossen Plevneliev received the 2015 annual award for Pro-European Policy, launched by TV Evropa. The award was handed for a second consecutive year. Sofia Mayor Yordanka Fandakova was the first bearer of the award. The bronze statuette entitled The Abduction of Europa was made by sculptor Rumen Zhekov. “It is a great honor for me to receive the annual award for Pro-European Policy on the eve of the Day of Europe - May 9”, President Plevneliev said during the ceremony and added:

“I am proud to be  aPro-European President. This is what I promised to the Bulgarian citizens in the first day of my campaign. I came out and stated that the EU is not a foreign policy, this is our family. The EU is a unique peace project, the best project humankind created out of the WW2 ruins. The EU is a drive of human development, the most powerful engine of democracy on our continent and worldwide. The EU is a dream come true for everyone. It needs our confidence and support. Today people realize that all they have achieved could deteriorate, but can also be rapidly improved, if they believe in their values and oppose division, propaganda and manipulated history.”Europe is functioning well. It changes all its member states and teaches us that rules are more important than our armies. The EU is behind an unprecedented progress on this continent, attained through our joint efforts. However, Europe still has a long way to go. There are a series of challenges ahead of us. It is very easy to stick to a short-term policy, to point to Brussels as the convenient guilty for the national failures. Do not count on me for this. I am the President who believes that the European Commission is a trusted partner and will not allow any short-term political interests to divert us from the right path of European development. I quote Robert Shuman (one of the founders of United Europe) who says that Europe is the power which will break all obstacles. Europe’s power is based on the efforts of 500 million European citizens who change the continent for the better with their shared destiny, the lessons learnt from the past and their vision of a prosperous Europe. Bulgarians are proud people. They are more confident in their future, because they are part of the respectful family of democratic societies, which cherish, are devoted to and will achieve a united and peaceful Europe.”

Why this award was granted to President Plevneliev? Here is what Emil Stoyanov, who is the founder of Evropa TV and one of the organizers of the annual award for Pro-European Policy, told Radio Bulgaria.

“I was driven by President Plevneliev’s straightforwardness in support of the European ideas and values in Bulgaria, as well as by his firmness, despite the multiple attacks against him organized by people who are against the European values. President Plevneliev never hesitated to express his affiliation towards Europe and defend our country’s belonging to the united European family.”

What does it mean to be a pro-European politician at present? Here is what EC Vice-President and Commissioner for Budget and Human Resources Kristalina Georgieva and Sofia Mayor Yordanka Fandakova told Radio Bulgaria on the occasion:

“Being a Pro-European politician means to care about the future of your children! The tension and the competition across the globe are now stronger and all 507 million Europeans have to be much stronger. Our responsibility is to give all Europeans, including the Bulgarian citizens, the opportunity for a better life, which means that we must be part of a common European family”, Commissioner Georgieva maintains.

“I think that the belonging of our country and the profile of the present Bulgarian politician are very clear, because we are part of the big European family. Giving our contribution to the common cause, we can answer to many challenges we all face. I am happy to maintain good contacts with the mayors of the big European cities. It enables us to solve our problems much quicker. We can use the common European experience in spheres such as environment, transport, E-government, etc. Europe gives us the chance to work together, to mark holidays such as the Day of Europe together and meet all challenges together. Nowadays, it is very important to feel part of the European entity”, Mayor Fandakova concludes.

English version: Kostadin Atanasov