BG

PRIME MINISTER BORISSOV: IF WE WANT TO BE AMBITIOUS - THEN WE NEED AN AMBITIOUS EU BUDGET

16.02.2019

 

Prime Minister Boyko Borissov held a bilateral meeting with EU Commissioner for Budget and Human Resources Guenther Oettinger in the margins of the Munich Security Conference. The focus of the conversation fell on the negotiations on the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) for the period 2021-2027.

 

"If we want to be ambitious - then we need an ambitious budget. Our future development depends on that, as well as our ability to show that the EU can act in unity at difficult times and come out from the crises even stronger," the Bulgarian Prime Minister told European Commissioner Oettinger.

 

Prime Minister Borissov noted that Bulgaria supports the arguments and the position of the European Commission to conclude the negotiations on the MFF until October 2019. "I hope we will be able to reach an agreement in due time so that there is no delay in the programs, the expectations of our citizens are met and we get back their trust," said Prime Minister Borissov. He told Oettinger that we are required to find the balance between growth policy and new priorities.

 

"As an external border of the EU, Bulgaria well understands the need to provide sufficient resources for the new challenges, especially in the areas of security, migration, and defense. But it is equally important that the EU budget invests in growth, employment, competitiveness, and convergence," said Prime Minister Borissov.

 

He expressed categorical conviction that the Cohesion policy and the Common agricultural policy are of priority for our country and that these policies have proven their added value for the entire EU. "There is an exceptionally strong need to enhance the focus on the needs of the least developed regions. Only this way we will prevent the deepening of the lag and will support the strengthening of the economic and social development of the EU as a whole," said Prime Minister Boyko Borissov.

 

The Bulgarian Prime Minister and the EU Commissioner agreed that a balanced MFF proposal, taking into account the needs of the Member States, is an achievable objective.