BULGARIA’S PRESIDENT PLEVNELIEV: “I WILL WORK TO ENSURE THAT 2015 IS THE YEAR OF REFORMS AND MODERNISATION”

“I will work to ensure that 2015 is the year of reforms and modernisation", said Bulgaria’s President Rosen Plevneliev on 21st of January at a press conference outlining the work during his first three years in office.

The President said that those three years saw the worst economic crisis in the European Union since its establishment and that the crisis challenged the fundamental values of the union.

“Bulgaria went through demographic, economic, political and social crisis”, he noted and added that 2014 was a year of political instability, bank failure, suspended EU funds, a year of natural disasters and incidents.

The President said that global and regional threats were a fact and that Bulgaria was faced with serious challenges related to refugee flows and crises.

Plevneliev stated that Bulgaria's people have the chance to move forward important reforms in the areas of judicial system, healthcare, energy, education, administration, pension system and security sector.

He hopes that the crisis of severe political discord remains in the past and according to him the first signs of this are obvious. He praised the new political culture of negotiations and coalitions, which grew after the recent parliamentary elections in October 2014.

“We need to show that Bulgaria has matured and can successfully work in coalitions”, the President remarked.

Plevneliev firmly opposed the policies of Moscow. In his opinion, the Bulgarian position over the conflict between Russia and Ukraine has helped for the formation of a common position of the European Union.

“Bulgaria today is part of the free world", the President noted.

He put an emphasis on the rearmament of Bulgaria.