The Bulgarian motto "Unity makes strength" is currently extremely important for the European Union. If we want to survive in a time of global uncertainties and crises around us in every respect – economy, security, migration, we must be united and strong.
This was what the head of the Bulgarian delegation in the EPP group and member of the Presidency of the European Parliament Andrey Kovachev said to FOCUS.
Europe must seek unity in policies and investments in the fields of defense, security and competitiveness, he added. The call of the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen was precisely for unity and investments in a competitive, smart and more European economy.
According to him, Europe must set the standards in the world by concluding bilateral trade agreements. "The agreement with South America is about to be ratified, the trade agreement with India should be completed by the end of the year. We already have it with South Korea, with Vietnam. We are working on those with Indonesia, with Australia, New Zealand and Singapore, so that we can set these trade standards for products produced in Europe and the slogan "Made in Europe" can once again stand as a brand for quality and security on the world market," said Kovachev.
Von der Leyen's call for a new world order is a response to the agenda that the presidents of China, the US and North Korea are trying to impose, he said. "It is unlikely that their new world order will be very friendly to democratic countries. Therefore, we must be united, competitive and have an economy. We must drastically reduce our dependence on primary production resources, especially in the digital sphere, and be able to procure them from our own resources or diversify them“, explained the MEP.
The European Parliament must urgently ratify the six legislative packages prepared to reduce bureaucracy. “This will save over 8 billion euros in various areas. The 1.8 trillion program aims to increase production in the European Union, making it more efficient and more European. These are the main focuses of the European Parliament in the coming months“, explained the head of the Bulgarian delegation in the EPP group.
According to him, the Kremlin is testing Europe's defense capabilities in a variety of ways – through drones, through hybrid threats, through propaganda on social networks. “If we do not show that we are united, they will continue these tests. The European Union is a peaceful project, but we cannot allow ourselves to be taken over,“ added Kovachev.