In the event of a massive migratory pressure towards our land borders, Bulgaria does not have the capacity to alone cope with the problem and therefore we should be very active and use all possible EU levers and mechanisms. This is what President Rumen Radev said, taking a journalist’s question regarding the meeting held yesterday with the Prime Minister, representatives of the government and the security services related to the escalation of tension in the Middle East.

The Head of State reiterated his call for adopting a common European action plan in the event of a sudden increase in the migratory pressure along the external EU borders. The request for adopting such an operational plan was submitted to the Council of the EU in April 2017, where our country was represented by President Rumen Radev, and was discussed at the summit of the presidents of EU parliamentary republics on 11 October 2019 in Athens.

Asked to comment the release of Jock Palfreeman, which brings in a division in society, the President said that he will not take the liberty to comment on a court ruling. “I would like to call on everyone, no matter whether they are outside or inside the system, not to interfere in the jurisdiction of the court,” Rumen Radev further emphasized.

Taking a question regarding the resignation tendered by the President of the Bulgarian Football Union Borislav Mihaylov and also the operation conducted by the Chief Directorate for Combating Organized Crime in the Central Football Office, the Head of State said that the resignation demand was a case of panic abdication from responsibility of the people who bear this responsibility by virtue of law.  

In the Head of State’s opinion, with the very calls and explanations that this resignation is demanded because of racist outrage, the power holders unmasked themselves because not a single federation should be held responsible for the conduct of the fans and not a single federation, including the Bulgarian Football Union, should perform defensive or investigative functions.

“Football is the mirror of the state. Whatever the governance of the state is, such is the governance of the Bulgarian football and yesterday’s actions are a convincing proof of that,” Rumen Radev further commented and added that for him it is unprecedented that the state should interfere in a rough and inadmissible manner in a federation which is absolutely independent from it.

The Head of State emphasized that it is extremely unpleasant that Bulgaria, which rescued 50,000 Jews and did not allow any of them to be sent to the death camps during Europe’s worst times, to be described as a racist country.  “The state needs to implement draconian measures against football hooliganism. Unless politicians stop being tempted to use football fan groups in protests and counter-protests, such incidents will continue to happen,” President Rumen Radev further said.