Denkov Confers with Von Der Leyen and Michel

It was made clear that Bulgaria will have support wherever it is needed, Prime Minister Nikolay Denkov said Wednesday in Brussels after his meetings with European Council President Charles Michel and European Commission (EC) President Ursula von der Leyen.

Denkov pointed out that he and Von der Leyen had discussed international priorities - Schengen, the euro area, the protection of the EU's borders, aid to Ukraine. Regarding Bulgaria's two nominations for the country's next EU commissioner, Denkov noted that the EC has expressed appreciation for their high qualities.

The Bulgarian Prime Minister expressed his expectation that the next EC report on the rule of law in the EU would present a fair and honest account of the progress made in Bulgaria. "Where there are weaknesses, I expect them to be clearly defined so that if someone has claims against Bulgaria, it is clear what they are", Denkov said. It was said again that Bulgaria should hold bilateral talks with the Netherlands and Austria, they will happen tomorrow, he added. In his words, the preliminary talks show that the two countries, which did not support Bulgaria for Schengen in 2022, are now waiting for the report.

Denkov stressed the importance of continued cooperation with Turkiye in the area of migration and border security. "I plan to seek a meeting with President Recep Erdogan soon so that we can work together in this direction", he said.

On the issue of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP), the Prime Minister expressed hope that the next payment from the EU budget would be received by Bulgaria by the end of 2023, as foreseen in the new draft budget. He noted that there had been no recent progress due to the unclear idea of how to meet the EC's requirements. "We already have an idea of how it can be approached, I briefly shared it with the EC president", Denkov said. In his words, Bulgaria is expected to present detailed intentions for changes to the NRRP in the next few months.

The Prime Minister said that the main reason for the serious delay in the NRRP was the lack of a clear idea of how to meet the EC requirements and at the same time to have the state take care of the people and economy in the coal regions based on the new technologies. The Bulgarian government is now urgently preparing an analysis on the subject, to be discussed with the EC.

According to him, what is most important is how the plan's backlog will be overcome and clarified that more legal amendments need to be adopted in order to have a second payment. Denkov pointed out that at the beginning of his government half of the necessary reforms had not been made. "It is important that this process continues with consistency, so that we can catch up," he said.

Denkov confirmed that Defence Minister Todor Tagarev has already stated Bulgaria's willingness to join the joint procurement of ammunition from the European Defence Agency in connection with the war in Ukraine. This is important for Bulgaria's defence industry, the Prime Minister said.