Antonio Tajani's Speech at the Opening Ceremony of the Bulgarian Presidency

"The motto of Bulgaria, "United we stand strong”,which was also chosen as the motto of the first Bulgarian Presidency of the Council, summarizes, in four simple words, our common endeavour for the coming six months: Together we must tackle the many challenges ahead of us and make Europe fit for the future. Together we must continue our reflection on how to improve our Union, to make it more efficient, more democratic and closer to our citizens, especially to the younger generations," the President of the European Parliament, Antonio Tajani, said in his speech at the Opening ceremony of the Bulgarian Presidency on 11^th of January.

He went on by saying that two months ago he had the privilege to participate in a discussion with students of the University of Sofia.

"I was impressed by the many talented, ambitious and enthusiastic pro-european young Bulgarians who took the floor. They have great expectations of Europe and they count on us for concrete answers," Tajani said.

Their main concern was better employment opportunities. If we want to create jobs for them, we need to attract more investment, especially in the fields of digital technologies, creative industries and tourism.