„I liked Ursula von der Leyen's speech yesterday. I liked it because for the first time, the sovereignty of Europe in many directions was at the center of this speech. And especially in terms of the security of Europe, in terms of the biggest challenges related to social networks, with AI, with Europe's great dependence on China. In this respect, I liked the speech – it was sincere.“
This is what she said on the show "Face to Face" President Iliana Yotova.
„However, there was one proposal that surprised me personally, because it was the first time I heard that there would be a new Security Council, in which, in addition to the member states, Canada, Norway, Ukraine and the United Kingdom are proposed to participate“, the president explained.
„This disturbed me, because this is the first time that this proposal is being made without a mandate, without consultations with all EU countries. Perhaps this idea will be developed in more detail from now on“, she believes.
„In addition, how will this council be financed, how is Canada's participation envisaged, because there are EU countries that have not even ratified the trade agreement with Canada yet. In addition, who will lead it – "This is a central issue for me," said Iliana Yotova.
She also mentioned other omissions in Ursula von der Leyen's speech.
„I expected that a significant part of it would be dedicated to the next EU budget from 2028 to 2034, in which many countries have many reasons to be against at this stage. It completely changes the philosophy of financing the member states. There are three new pillars in which we have the so-called national and regional programs, in which instead of the way we have worked so far, there is an allocation of funds from fisheries to security," explained Yotova.
According to her, we should be proud that Bulgaria was mentioned in von der Leyen's speech in an extremely positive context, which is a major economic breakthrough for Bulgaria.