Dear compatriots,

Today is the last day of the Bulgarian campaign for the elections for European Parliament. For a month 15 parties, six coalitions and three independent candidates had the chance to present their views on the future of the European Union and Bulgaria as an inseparable part of it.

The elections for members of European Parliament have already started. Yesterday the voters in Great Britain and the Netherlands exercised their right to vote. Today the citizens of Ireland and the Czech Republic will do the same. 400 million Europeans have the right to vote at these elections and I am convinced that this will be the most large-scale democratic event in European history so far. For the first time a public debate between the nominated candidates for president of the European Commission were held, which were directly broadcast on all media. This gave not only the citizens but also the candidates for MEPs the chance to reconsider their positions on the European agenda. 10 years after the euphoria from the “big expansion” and six years after the most severe post World War Two financial and economic crisis in Europe, a growing number of governments of the EU member states are confronted serious and complicated problems which provoke skepticism and disillusionment.

The elections for European Parliament, as all democratic elections, are a chance for a new beginning, since they provide the opportunity not only for new people to enter politics, but also for us to order the priorities in our common European project correctly. We, politicians, are still in debt to the European voters because we fail to inform our citizens enough, sometimes tempted by the opportunity to more easily justify, by the decisions we make, wrong national policies.  

However, elections always remind us that Euroskepticism, the anti-European rhetoric and apathy are a great threat not only to European integration, but also to democracy on the national level. Our common European Union today more than ever before needs an additional dose of trust which will respond to populism and nationalism.

The European Union is facing a new phase of integration, which needs the trust and support of the citizens. They will set the direction of development not only in the next five years, but also in a longer period of time. The important idea for European unity is unique. It is strongly inspiring even today and sets an example to all people throughout the world. The European Union provided the European peoples with a common space for living and working, a common market and the opportunity to have a loud voice and impact on the global scene. The European Union is the best thing of everything that Europe tried and experienced in the past decades. I hope the time of isolated countries, iron curtains and political repressions remains in the past. We should not forget where we were 15 years ago when, at the time of the strong-arm criminal rings, bank bankruptcies, the queues for visas, for petrol, for milk and bread we set out on our path to European integration.

Today we are part of the modern world. Bulgaria is a small, yet open economy, part of the huge common European market in which if you have good education, consistent labor and ideas you may be successful. Bulgaria’s EU membership brought about human freedom and prospects. The benefits Bulgaria derives from its European integration are visible and they are yet to considerably increase. It depends on us how we will use the European Union – as a tool for development or as a convenient excuse for national failures.

Tomorrow on reflection day we will celebrate the most Bulgarian holiday – the day of Bulgarian education and culture and of the Slavic script. This day reminds us that Bulgaria is a country that has a historical contribution to Europe’s cultural and spiritual development – a cogent reason for every Bulgarian to be nationally confident and proud.

However, almost half a century of its modern history, Bulgaria was artificially separated from its European family. Nevertheless we, Bulgarians, did not abandon our historical ideal – to occupy our worthy place among the European peoples. Throughout all the years of the totalitarian regime the European ideal was all that we strived for – democracy, freedom of personality, freedom of speech and media, fair elections and a law-governed state. Generations of Bulgarian patriots saw Bulgaria’s place in a united Europe, not only in terms of geographical location, but also as part of a common system of values, as an irreversible civilization choice, which the Bulgarian citizens strongly support.

Now, when we are part of united Europe, we should be active European citizens and by the way we vote we should show responsibility to our future.

On Sunday we will vote for the Bulgarian representatives in the European Parliament – the most democratic European institution. Its legitimacy depends on each citizen of the European Union. Only if we are more active, will we be able to make the European institutions more open and democratic, so that the people will believe in the European prospects and feel involved in European policy.

The European Union is not foreign policy for Bulgaria, it is our family. The decisions made not only in Sofia, but also in Brussels and Strasburg, have a direct impact on our lives. Therefore it is important that the country’s voice is heard, that we have clear national positions on the European agenda, and that the elected Bulgarian MEPs defend them together.

The Bulgarian regions and municipalities, the small and medium-sized enterprises and the agricultural workers will ever more strongly feel the benefits from the European programs. Bulgaria’s potential as part of the common Cohesion and Agricultural policy is enormous. Only political passivity, inefficient institutions and the lack of priorities and ambition may doom us to backwardness and regress. Therefore the citizens should vote and demand that the politicians make clear and simple decisions which will ensure sustainable growth and modernization of the Bulgarian economy.

For seven years the Bulgarian politicians have been explaining the EU through European funds, they have been figuring out pluses and minuses – how much we have imported and how much we use, what is banned and what is permitted. I am sure that the real, big help that the Bulgarian people expect from Europe is not only financial or economic. We should consider the European Union not as a donor, not as a source of funds, but as something we would like to be – an economic, political and cultural community, which believes in its mission, its principles and values, by working to ensure peace, democracy and a rule of law in the world.

The economic crisis affected many families in Bulgaria and Europe. A lot succumbed to Euroscepticism because they lost their jobs. A lot of young people who have graduated university experience difficulties in finding a job. However, alienation, pessimism and apathy will not solve these problems. We should pool efforts and have a will for change.

I would especially like to address the youngest, those that most immediately felt the opportunities that our EU membership provides. The freedom of movement and lifting all restrictions opened new perspectives. The young Bulgarians travel to work, to study and specialize, to communicate with their peers, they can feel part of the European society of knowledge, enterprise, tolerance and solidarity. However, it is our responsibility to make it possible for the young people to realize their potential here, in Bulgaria, to build their families and future here, in their homeland. Therefore I call on them to vote. Together with their parents who throughout their whole lives had the ambition to ensure European prospects for them and for themselves. Generations of Bulgarians who lived behind the Iron curtain dreamed of and suffered for this membership. Our fathers and mothers, our grandfathers and grandmothers, the representatives of the Bulgarian national revival wanted their children to be free and to feel Europeans. Therefore we should choose to go further down the path of European development which ensures more freedom, order and opportunities for everyone, which our European Union is a symbol of.

Vote for the future of Europe, this is our future! What our future will be, depends of each one of us. Everyone’s vote is important.