Ilhan Kyuchyuk: Bulgaria would benefit if it takes part in the processes that drive the European Union

Interview for Rositza newspaper

How important are the upcoming European elections, how many possible roads lie ahead of our country and whether his name will be part of the Movement for Rights and Freedoms list for the upcoming elections?Exclusively for Rositsa daily, we received answers to these questions by the Member of Parliament from the Movement for Rights and Freedoms / ALDE/ and our fellow townsman, Mr. Ilhan Kyuchyuk days ago in the European Parliament in Strasbourg.

We are at the doorsteps of the next European Parliament elections. How important are they to Europe, and in particular to Bulgaria, Mr. Kyuchyuk?

They are extremely important because for the first time the European elections will be held while one of the countries in the Union would either have left or will be in the process of leaving. They are important because, after President Trump’s election, Europe is faced with a crossroad in the relations between the European Union and the United States of America. We are still to see how this will reflect. And thirdly, Europe has always been a union of values. Over the years, however, we have seen that these values ​​are put in question. To what extent the values ​​that were laid down by EU’s fathers could be protected in these European elections is of utmost importance for the future of the Union.Of course, the generic rhetoric will not help us. We need a concrete talk that could draw a clear horizon for the future of the EU. European citizens and, above all, Bulgarian citizens will expect from us concrete answers to their concrete questions.

And what is currently proposed by the Bulgarian politicians?

Basically two things: one is to have Europe of the national borders, meaning – to close ourselves up and have our own sovereignty, much stronger than the current sovereignty. But if we are to offer this, what should we expect for France and Germany to offer, probably the same, and even a little more because these two countries are bigger and they will have their own nationalism, inconsistent with ours for understandable reasons. This is one option. What is the other one – to break up completely the integration process, i.e. not to be a country that wants to enter Schengen, not to be a country that wants to be part of the eurozone. I think both approaches are wrong. Bulgaria would not benefit from this. Bulgaria would benefit if it is part of something bigger. Bulgaria, which is part of the processes that drive the European Union. Of course, here we need to be very categorical and at the same time very prepared, not only the MEPs but also the Bulgarian country. It has been 12 years since Bulgaria entered the EU, but unfortunately we are still merely a formal member of the Union and it is time to break this. To become a real member of the Union. I think that the current edition of the European Parliament and these 17 MEPs tried to show consensus on several occasions. The most distinctive one is on the “Macron Package” when we all stood on the same position and proved that we can even change the attitudes in the EP. And that was important. Thus, may everybody exercise their right to vote, so we can tilt the scales in favor of Bulgaria.

Should we expect your name in the MRF list for the upcoming elections?

The procedures are ongoing within the party structures, the decision will be taken after their completion. But yes, my name is one of the nominated ones. We will know for sure in up to a month.

Тази публикация е достъпна и на следните езици: Bulgarian