„European colleagues monitor Bulgaria mainly through the prism of European policies and programs, and not internal political squabbles. The President of the European Commission comes to Bulgaria, the money under the plan starts flowing, the European programs are moving - that's what's important“, commented MEP from GERB/EPP Andrey Novakov in connection with the heated debates surrounding the last vote of no confidence and the protests in front of the National Assembly.
„I'll tell you what my colleagues tell me - what they were saying a year ago and what they are saying now. A year ago, they stopped me and told me: “We stopped watching Netflix because it is more interesting to watch the elections in Bulgaria.“ This is a literal quote. I have heard them talking to each other: “Be careful that it does not become like in Bulgaria.“ And I agree with that. There was even a whole expression created – – – so that it does not become like the Bulgarian merry-go-round“ – about what was happening in our country. We had become a disgrace, a disgrace: we went to elections eight times. If we add the presidential and local elections, in two and a half years we went to elections 12 or 13 times. People laughed at us.
However, now the situation is different, Novakov emphasized and gave examples: the Romanian press writes: “The Bulgarians have overtaken us again, they entered the eurozone.“ The Greek press commented: “As long as we don't get the Bulgarians – there's nothing worse than that.“
"For me, that's enough when the President of the European Commission comes to Bulgaria, when the President of the European Council comes, when the money under the Recovery Plan and the money under European programs starts flowing. That's the only thing that matters. We are all fighting for two more leva to come into Bulgaria, to launch the European programs, so that something good can happen and to invest in the country. Nobody cares what two people said to each other on the sidewalk – this is simply untenable“, added the MEP.
Novakov added that European partners see Bulgaria as a reliable member of the EU and NATO, which can benefit from investments and programs such as SAFE to strengthen the military-industrial capacity. According to him, the constant crises and scandals in our country are weakening trust, but European institutions continue to expect stability and predictability from Sofia.