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Good morning Ladies and Gentlemen, Mr. President, Honourable President Radev,
I am here for two reasons. The first is to jointly celebrate the fact that the agreement we reached in May, when the President was in Budapest, has finally been fulfilled. In May the President was in Budapest, we discussed the Hungarian Presidency, and he said that we should jointly set ourselves the goal of Bulgaria being in the Schengen Area by the end of the Hungarian Presidency. We said then that this was possible, but that we would both have to work very hard on it. We said that some of us were at the front of the stage, in front of the scenes, and some of us were behind the scenes, but we would have to work for it, because there was serious resistance in Europe, there were blocking countries – and it was no accident that this issue had not moved forward for thirteen years. This block could be removed, but only if we worked well together. And now this agreement concluded in May is coming to fruition, and will take effect on 1 January. So I wanted to come and thank the President for the help he gave to the Hungarian Presidency, and for the fact that we were able to bring this to a successful conclusion. So congratulations!
Perhaps your citizens, Mr. President, are not yet aware of the major changes that the Schengen Area will bring, but in a few months’ time, everyone will experience a completely different feeling in life. It is not just that it will be physically easier to get here or there, but that – and you will understand this, because you are a proud people – you will be liberated from second-class status. Because it is one thing to be in the European Union; but some people move freely and others do not move freely. One can move freely from some countries, but not from others. And this is also subliminally depressing, because no one likes to be pushed to the back of the queue. But this feeling is coming to an end, with the last remnants of this second-class status disappearing; and from now on we Bulgarians and Hungarians will enjoy the benefits of the European Union just as much as anyone else. Here there is no need to talk about the beneficial effects this will have on trade and transport. This is the first reason I am here.
The second reason is for us to review Hungarian–Bulgarian relations, which are essentially economic. Perhaps in this context I can say, with due courtesy, that it is not so easy for a Hungarian to maintain long-term relations in Bulgaria today, because the government system here is much more volatile than in Hungary, and it is very difficult to find a fixed point for the long term. And I would like to thank the President for the fact that, even in these times of rapid change, the President of Bulgaria has always been a fixed point, and has always played a stabilising role in Hungarian–Bulgarian relations. For this we are grateful. He has always supported us in all our endeavours related to Bulgarian–Hungarian relations. And I must say, Mr. President, that this is no small thing, because you play a critical role for our security. Bulgaria is a key country for Hungary, especially since the outbreak of war in Ukraine. Since the start of the war in Ukraine everything has changed; what used to arrive safely in Hungary through Ukraine is now not guaranteed at all – let’s say gas, as 85 per cent of Hungarian households are gas-based in terms of energy. The only solution – the only sure solution – is the route via Bulgaria, and the President has always helped us in this. Last year alone we were able to import 5.6 billion cubic metres of gas into Hungary via Bulgaria, and the figure for this year is 7 billion cubic metres. Total Hungarian consumption is 9 billion cubic metres. We import 7 billion of the 9 billion we need through you. This shows that you are playing a key role in Hungary’s security. Likewise, as you may know, we have a nuclear power plant, which is essential for Hungary’s energy security. But we cannot get the fuel from Russia to Hungary via Ukraine, and only Bulgaria can help us out in this situation – which it has always done. Mr. President, we are grateful that you have made these deliveries possible.
And we talked about Bulgaria joining the Green Energy Corridor initiative, which involves several countries. Hungary is one of its founders. We welcome Bulgaria becoming part of this cooperation. We also talked about military and defence cooperation. In this I am speaking with a specialist, so it is relatively easy. We both have an interest in there being industrial cooperation between the two countries in military and defence areas.
And, finally, we also agreed that this is an exceptional moment: the stars are aligned, cooperation between our two countries is lively, and it is time to raise economic cooperation to an even higher level. We will therefore strive to attract as many Hungarian investors as possible to come here, to you; we likewise welcome Bulgarian investors and businesspeople in Hungary, and we would also like to participate in strategic developments. As you have heard, the most important thing for us is energy, and so we would be happy for Hungarian companies to be accepted as strategic partners in the energy sector in Bulgaria. This is how we are closing the year. May all our years be as good as this!
Thank you, Mr. President, for receiving me here.
