"The question is whether Bulgaria has the self-confidence to put its interests forward, which for some reason do not coincide with the interests of the EU and other countries. The second question is who determines Bulgaria's national interest - whether it is determined by the Bulgarian citizens who elect their representatives in parliament and from there in the government, and they must comply with this, or the government thinks it knows the most of all", said Prof. Daniel Valchev in the studio of "The Day Begins with Georgi Lyubenov".
Valchev commented on EU politics.
"Not always when a country raises a sharp issue within the EU, it defends it to the end. Sometimes it's "I'll back down, you back down." The big question with the war in Ukraine is how we Europeans see its end - whether we see any end at all, and if we imagine the world in five years, what are the steps that would bring us closer to what we want to achieve in five years. I'm not a fan of sanctions that are symbolic. This sanctions against the Russian patriarch make no factual sense."
"For the first time in a long time, I feel at ease when the Bulgarian Prime Minister goes to Brussels. We were in a situation where I was hesitating about the name of the foreign minister," Valchev commented on the political crisis.
Regarding the nomination of Andrey Gyurov for president, Valchev said.
"In these presidential elections, candidates nominated by initiative committees will most likely compete, with the exception of Kostadin Kostadinov – a candidate from “Vazrazhdane“. The fact that he will be nominated by an initiative committee is the result not of a deep political decision, but of a pragmatic one – not everyone in this coalition would support him. It will be difficult for him to go beyond the community that would support such a candidacy. Gyurov is a good candidate, but how well does he suit a large part of the leaders and will he not challenge them."
For the upcoming proposal of "Progressive Bulgaria" for president Valchev commented.
Daniel Valchev: "It doesn't matter to him who exactly will be president, it's more important for him not to lose. He can win and lose equally. Bulgaria has shown many times that it is not inclined to put all its eggs in one basket and we are not inclined to go in one direction."