Jean-Claude Juncker tells BNT: Thank you, Bulgaria! Thank you!

The President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, gave a special interview for the Bulgarian National Television's correspondent in Brussels, Desislava Apostolova.

Answering BNT question whether the reputation of Bulgaria in the EU changed because of the Presidency, Jean-Claude Juncker said that this first Bulgarian Presidency has been a great success - compared to the debut of other countries in this role, and compared to some who preside for the sixth, seventh time. Your performance was remarkable. This concerns the government, the Bulgarian Prime Minister, the Minister in charge for the Bulagrian Presidency, Lilyana Pavlova, but also because of the qualities of the civil servants in Bulgaria. I am very pleased with the results that Bulgaria has achieved, Good work!, Juncker noted.

BNT: You have visited Bulgaria several times, what are the impressions of Bulgarians as people?

It is always difficult to sense both the government and the ordinary people, but I think the Bulgarian government, my good friend Boyko Borissov and the people of Bulgaria were looking in one direction. I noticed that at the very beginning of the presidency, only about 30% of the Bulgarians believed that it would be successful. I now learn that 81% of Bulgarians appreciate it as a great success. And they are right. Your reputation grew. No one questions the place of Bulgaria in the EU. Everyone now believes that Bulgaria plays not only a role but a central role in Europe. So this Presidency was good for Bulgaria, he remarked.

BNT: You said that the most important event during the Bulgarian Presidency was the summit for the Western Balkans. Sofia, however, failed to convince France and the Netherlands that the accession negotiations with Macedonia and Albania should begin immediately.

As President of the European Commission, I have always argued that no country can join the EU within the mandate of this Commission, I mean between 2014 and 2019. This has caused great disruption in the Western Balkans. Thanks to the Bulgarian Presidency, we have brought together the different perspectives on the accession of the Western Balkans. Your Prime Minister Boyko was very helpful in explaining to the countries of the Western Balkans that the time for their membership has not yet come. But he initiated a process that allows us to start negotiations with Macedonia - we can say Macedonia, and with Albania. These accession negotiations will start in June-July 2019. So Bulgaria was once again very helpful in reassuring the issue. We need to keep the European perspective for the Western Balkans alive. If we fail, we will experience the tragedies we saw in the 90's. And Bulgaria knows best how complicated this region is because it is part of it, albeit in a less complicated situation than others. Bulgaria plays a major role in the Western Balkans. Good Achievement!, Juncker said.

BNT: Migration has been the hot topic in recent months and will continue to be. There was no reform of the Dublin Regulation during the Bulgarian Presidency. Will the Austrians manage to do that?

I would like it to be as successful as the Bulgarian one, because during the Bulgarian Presidency there was almost full agreement on five of the legislative proposals in this area, which the Commison presented in 2015. I proposed to the Council these five acts on which there is a de facto consent to be adopted by the end of July and the other two - asylum, Dublin procedures and so on, by the end of the year. The European Council does not reach agreement, but it has to be done and I hope it will happen during the Austrian Presidency. I am not sure that regarding these reforms they will be as insistent as the Bulgarians, but if they want to get closer to the results of the Bulgarian presidency they have to do so, he said.

BNT: At the recent summit, Prime Minister Borissov was not pleased with the way the leaders at the last minute had to change and negotiate the migration document instead of the experts.

Will this be the new way of making decisions in Europe?

There is no culture of decision making in Europe. What the Prime Minister told you at the European Council on Thursday and Friday last week was that the Council of Ministers is the true legislator in the EU and decides what is appropriate for a given issue. However, at the European Council level, they do not sufficiently take into account what has been done, as they think, at a lower level. I really think that during the Bulgarian Presidency, the Council of Ministers did a good job. This is seen in many ways - the posted workers directive, equal pay for equal work in the same place. This is a Bulgarian achievement. I know it was very difficult for the Bulgarian government because of the region in which Bulgaria is, but it is for the good of the Bulgarian workers who work out of the country. The Bulgarian Presidency has also been very effective in terms of renewable energy sources. There are other great achievements, such as something that is not easy and for which the media never speak. 100 meetings between the European Commission, the Parliament and the Council - this is a record for all the EU presidencies. I regret that on 30 June the Bulgarian Presidency had to end.

BNT: You are going to the US at the end of July. What do you expect from the transatlantic relations?

I strongly believe in the power of transatlantic relations. They hve been built since World War II. I am glad that Bulgaria joined NATO, because it was an important step. I am glad that with its presence Bulgaria enriched the European Union, it supplemented it with typical Bulgarian characteristics. I continue to be a great supporter of the strong transatlantic ties. What saddens me is that the United States creates the impression that they are retreating, that they are distantising from what had been been built as a result of many sacrifices on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. I will travel to Washington this month, and I will repeat to President Trump everything I said at the G7 meeting in Canada - that if we calculate the volume of traded goods and services and add the profits that American multinational companies do in Europe, we are in deficit. I have to say that 70% of foreign investment in the US is of European origin. So we should not be ashamed - we have good arguments, of course, I do not know if he will listen to them, I am not very sure that he will change his strategy, which is not in favour of either the US or the EU, Juncker added.

Who will be the great rival of your European People's Party in the next European elections - the European Socialists or the populist parties?

Jean-Claude Juncker: I think we should not underestimate the danger of populism. Populism has different sources - on the left, on the far right, I neither like the far right, nor the far left, so I think the next European elections will be decisive - they will either give a majority to the pro-European parties or to those who are not big supporters of the European Union. I hope, I pray, I will fight for a pro-European majority. I'm not a European fanatic. People sometimes think that I am supportive of the idea for European united states , but no, I am for the closest possible cooperation in Europe among the member states, I am for wiping out the distance that exists between the countries of Central and Eastern Europe and in Western Europe. It does not make sense. We do not glide along the flow of history. We created history when we decided to accept Bulgaria, Romania and other countries in the region in the EU. We have no right to ruin it. We are responsible for the next generations. I love the moment when I signed the accession treaty of Bulgaria, because on that day I told myself - we are now uniting European history and European geography. And Bulgaria plays a central and important role in all this. Thank you, Bulgaria! Thank you!

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