Bulgarian Presidency of the Council of the EU draws to a close

Lilyana Pavlova, Minister for the Bulgarian Presidency of the Council of the EU, said that Bulgaria is no longer steretyped as poor and corrupt country. She noted that out of the 105 opened files in January, during the presidency, 75 agreements were reached in the Council and with the European Parliament.

Lilyana Pavlova, Minister for the Bulgarian Presidency of the Council of the EU: “In the first quarter, we achieved our first and greatest success - the posting of workers and their equal pay”.

According to Pavlova, our country has made the process of European integration of the Western Balkans irreversible. As an argument, Minister Zaharieva pointed to the agreement for Albania and Macedonia to start talks next summer.

Ekaterina Zaharieva, Minister of Foreign Affairs: “We were able to reach for the first time since 2015 a conclusion in the General Affairs Council on "enlargement" - something that can really be recorded as a success of the Bulgarian Presidency”.

The Deputy Prime Minister Tomislav Donchev also praised the Bulgarian Presidency of the Council of the EU.

Tomislav Donchev, Deputy Prime Minister: “The Bulgarian administrations did a great job, I even say they have done fantastic, far beyond the expectations of anyone, to some extent even much above my expectations”.

According to ”Alpha Research” survey results, before the presidency, less than half of Bulgarians believed Bulgaria was prepared for it, and now their percentage is 60. Only 13% of the Bulgarians have given a negative rating for the country's performance.

The overall assessment of sociologists and political scientists is also overwhelmingly positive, but they remined that unsuccesful presidency is highly unlikely.

As self-criticism, ministers highlighted the incomprehensible "Brussels" language.

Nearly half of Bulgarians believe that because of the presidency, our country has gained international prestige.