Prime Minister Zhelyazkov: Cohesion Fund funds should not be redirected to defense

Cohesion instrument funds should not be redirected to military policies, but should remain for cohesion policies. This was stated by Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov in Brussels, who took part in the extraordinary European Council on Ukraine.

The Bulgarian Prime Minister stated that today's meeting will discuss the interoperability between the individual institutions for the security of Ukraine and the place of our country as a crossroads.

“The country's place in this complex context is important for Bulgaria, especially since the geographical and political location and conjuncture must also be taken into account.

We will speak on behalf of Bulgaria about the dual use of transport infrastructure - especially in the direction of Corridor 8 and the Baltic Sea-Black Sea-Adriatic connection. This means resources and potential opportunities”, the Prime Minister said.

Bulgaria has a strong military industry, which we must modernize, develop and contribute to European security, Zhelyazkov continued in his speech to Bulgarian journalists.

There are two main topics that the heads of state and government of the EU countries are discussing in Brussels - the defense capability of the European Union, the stability of Ukraine and the achievement of a lasting and just peace. “Nothing related to peace in Ukraine can be resolved without Ukraine”, Zhelyazkov pointed out. The Prime Minister also emphasized that Europe must be prepared when the power of law is opposed to the right of might.

Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov was categorical that from a financial point of view, the development of defense capabilities should not endanger cohesion and cohesion funds. "Therefore, we will make a proposal to give the opportunity to use unabsorbed and unabsorbable funds from the Recovery and Resilience Mechanism - again in the Bulgarian economy, but for this defense cluster. From now on, serious work is ahead within the country," added Zhelyazkov. The Prime Minister pointed out that at the moment the Bulgarian industry has a potential for development, which should be realized on the basis of industrial cooperation according to NATO standards. "The resources that we would propose to be committed for this should be invested in the Bulgarian public and private industry," Zhelyazkov pointed out.

 Regarding support for Kiev, the Prime Ministeremphasized that everything that Bulgaria has undertaken as a commitment and with the acts of the parliament will be implemented. Asked by the media whether the sending of Bulgarian troops to Ukraine has been discussed, Prime Minister Zhelyazkov recalled that there is a very clearly expressed position on this topic, evident from the declaration adopted by the Bulgarian parliament. In response to another journalistic question, Zhelyazkov noted that it is yet to be clear what exactly the initiative of French President Emmanuel Macron is. “These are not initiatives within the framework of the European Union and the formats of the Union, but it is important that we are participants in all formats that guarantee the security of the Union,” Zhelyazkov added, quoted by the government information service.

According to Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov, the United States must remain in all security formats and expressed hope that the United States will continue to be committed to our collective security based on values.