site.btaBulgarian President in Delphi: Europe Can Tackle Challenges if It Steps Out of Its Comfort Zone

Speaking at the Delphi Economic Forum in Greece on Wednesday, Bulgarian President Rumen Radev said, as quoted by his press secretariat, that every country in the Balkans has its own perspective on history, but one of the most important historical lessons is that after centuries of rivalries and contradictions, "we have finally realised that cooperation is a much better choice than wars." Europe can tackle the challenges and strengthen its position in a highly contested world if it recognises the importance of the problems, raises its level of ambition and takes concrete action by stepping out of its comfort zone, Radev went on to say.

The Delphi Economic Forum brought together heads of state and government, academics, businesses and NGOs to discuss the prospects for sustainable development and competitiveness in an environment of intertwining crises. The international forum also focused on issues related to the consequences of the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, energy and economic challenges, connectivity, European unity, rapid technological development, and more.

In his speech, Radev stressed that the dynamics of the geopolitical processes is getting ever greater, the architecture of international security is collapsing, established business models are falling apart, the imposed new tariffs are shaking the markets, and the stagnation is affecting leading European economies, which makes it extremely difficult to make forecasts for the future. This also raises the question of Europe's level of ambition on how to tackle these challenges and make sense of a number of key areas for its future. The Bulgarian President listed as such: security, geopolitical positioning, the competitiveness of the European economy, the capital market, energy, innovation and artificial intelligence, and European unity. 

“However, before we tackle the problems of tomorrow, we must learn from the lessons of the past, otherwise the invested time, effort and money will hardly bring results,” the President said and called for strength and courage to give Europe an honest answer to a number of difficult questions. 

Radev called for an answer how Europe has allowed itself to fall behind in innovation and technology; how it has allowed itself to fall into an energy crisis and why the price of energy is several times lower in the US and China; why the EU is unable to take quick decisions; whether the war in Ukraine could have been prevented; why Russia produces four-fold more ammunition than NATO, as the Secretary General of the Alliance has underlined, despite its huge economic superiority; why Russia continues to advance on the battlefield in Ukraine despite colossal financial and military aid to Ukraine; why, instead of building strong defensive lines and preserving its defensive potential and territory, many leaders have encouraged Ukraine to launch a counter-offensive in 2023, with utopian assurances that it would defeat Russia, given that Ukraine did not have the conditions for success in an offensive operation according to the principles of operational art established by Clausewitz more than 200 years ago; whether Europe would agree to the United States and Russia negotiating peace in Europe without its participation.

Whatever the answers, the EU needs military power and a focused approach to decision-making in this turbulent world, Radev argued. "We must also be aware that the mere accumulation of weapons does not automatically lead to defence capabilities. We need, first of all, a clear political vision and a common defence strategy," the Bulgarian head of State argued. He highlighted as challenges the unification of the fragmented European defence industry and convincing the European citizens that investments in security are justified.

Radev also noted that the EU's achievement of strategic autonomy will require both time and resources, and Europe's security remains dependent on the transatlantic relationship, which should continue to develop. “Our common task today is to put an end to the bloodshed in Ukraine and to confidently embark on the path towards achieving a sustainable and lasting peace without wasting any more historical time,” the President said, adding that the outcome of this common effort has direct relevance to the new security architecture as well as to "our economic development and competitiveness."

“In the long term, guaranteeing our security will increasingly rely on the competitiveness of the European economy, based on a common EU industrial and financial policy and a strong European capital market,” Radev stressed. 

As another pillar of Europe's strategic autonomy, the head of State highlighted energy security and connectivity - areas in which Bulgaria and Greece continue to establish themselves as an example of excellent cooperation, according to Radev. He listed projects contributing to the energy security and diversification of the entire region: the Greece-Bulgaria gas interconnector, the floating terminal for liquefied gas near Alexandroupolis, the Maritsa East-Nea Santa high voltage electricity link, the vertical gas corridor, the construction of which started this month on Bulgarian territory, and the project for the establishment of an oil pipeline from Alexandroupolis to Burgas (on the Black Sea).

Radev highlighted the production and storage of energy from renewable sources as promising areas of the partnership between Bulgaria and Greece, as the latter country has the possibility of producing a large amount of energy from solar capacities, while Bulgaria has high-mountain dams and opportunities for the development of pumped-storage power plant capacities. He also highlighted the prospect of joint cooperation in the creation of big data centres and gigafactories for artificial intelligence.

"Bulgaria and Greece are part of Europe and always will be, and our strong cooperation and dedication to European unity and security proves that even if our region forms an external European border, it is not a periphery of the EU," the President told the Delphi Economic Forum. Radev recalled the words of the Danish philosopher Kierkegaard, "Life can only be understood backwards, but it must be lived forwards." "Therefore, although in the Balkans each country has its own perspective on history, one of the most important historical lessons is that after centuries of rivalries and contradictions, we have finally realised that cooperation is a much better choice than wars. Today, Bulgaria and Greece are strategic partners, building together a strong axis of stability and security that creates better prospects for the whole region," Radev said. He also said that the two countries will continue to deepen their European integration and expressed his country's gratitude for Greece supporting Bulgaria's accession to the Schengen border-free area.

In his speech at the international forum, Radev also highlighted the actions Bulgaria has taken to modernize the Bulgarian army as part of the joint efforts of the EU and NATO to ensure the security and stability of our region, the President's press secretariat reported.