President Radev: No progress on open issues between Sofia and Skopje

"There is no progress on the open issues between Sofia and Skopje, so there are no conditions for a visit by me to President Macron in Paris. I want to see real results, I appreciate the commitment and efforts of our European partners. Regarding Prime Minister Kiril Petkov's belief that the last instance on the issue of the Republic of North Macedonia is the Parliament, I should specify that the last instance is always the people and there are constitutional mechanisms for consultations," Rumen Radev told journalists on June 1.

He clarified that he was closely following the parties' positions. He also commented on the upcoming budget update.

"Many countries have already updated their budget, if there is no security we cannot talk about economy, education, culture and science," the President added.

Rumen Radev stressed that the policy of the Bulgarian state regarding the refugees should be careful and consistant.

"In the beginning, the main priority was to integrate them, and now we are crossing it out. We have an acute shortage of qualified specialties such as doctors, nurses engineers, anyone who wants to work, their children to study in our schools, should be given such an opportunity, but refugees should also follow the instructions of Bulgarian institutions. If you want support from the Bulgarian state, you have to respect its decisions," Rumen Radev added.

In his words, full European integration is a strategic goal for Bulgaria and the adoption of the euro is set out in Bulgaria's membership in the European Union.

"There should be a clear identification of the risks, along with a plan for the adoption of the euro, there should be a plan for neutralisation for potential negative consequences, for raising incomes, because if there are inadequate decisions they are not paid by those who take them, but by the members of the public," Rumen Radev added.

The Head of State opened the 15th edition of the International Defence Equipment and services Exhibition “HEMUS 2022 - Defence, Anti-terrorism and Security".