Brussels, 08/06/2016 (Agence Europe) - The European Union must not give into temptations of disunity or to the calls of populists, urged Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev in his speech to the plenary session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Wednesday 8 June.
Plevneliev, who introduced himself to MEPs as “proudly pro-European” and “leading a pro-European country”, focused his speech on the need to protect the cohesion of the Union in the face of a myriad of challenges. The challenge on which he concentrated most, and which seems to be the cause of many others, is the one posed by Russia. With proxy wars in Europe, propaganda campaigns and cyberattacks against European countries, Russian President Vladimir Putin is looking to destroy the foundations of European construction, he argued.
The best response the EU could deliver, Plevneliev said, in this time of “Cold Peace” is closer integration. There has also to be solidarity demonstrated, whether with regard to the sanctions regime or in response to the migration crisis.
Our duty is to defend European values, break down borders rather than erecting others, modernise our societies, support our partners, in particular our Ukrainian partners, work through diplomacy and build a stronger Europe, with new integration projects in areas such as energy and defence, the Bulgarian president said. He argued that espousing a programme such as that would be to show wisdom, something that is severely lacking in the Kremlin. (Original version in French by Jan Kordys)