What Andrey spoke about.

6

Jul

2026

EN Speech

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Air passenger rights (debate)

(Start of speech off mic) ... for this, and I think European citizens have waited enough. I believe this is one of the longest lasting legislative procedures that this Parliament has ever seen, and we have no right to prolong it even more. We achieved the maximum possible amount of rights that we can grant European citizens, while at the same time preserving companies' interest to fly, to get prof…

6

Jul

2026

EN Speech

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Air passenger rights (debate)

Madam President, dear colleagues, Commissioner, friends, today it's about something that everyone understands, mainly due to the fact that it happens almost to everyone. You arrive at the airport, full of excitement – family reunion, vacation, important business meeting, job interview. Then suddenly the screen goes black or changed – delay or cancellation. In that moment you don't need an apology.…

25

Mar

2026

BG Speech

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Energy security, independence and supply in the geopolitical context - ensuring market stability and affordable energy for industry and citizens (debate)

Mr President, looking at fuel prices, it will very soon be cheaper to charge our cars with French champagne than with diesel. And then the only mobility we will see is of voters from the normal pro-European parties to the radical ones, because they will quite normally use the fair anger of the people. They will offer simple solutions to complex issues. Pretty dangerous exercise. I ha…

20

Jan

2026

EN Speech

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Air passenger rights (debate)

Madam President, Commissioner, colleagues, I think this debate shows one thing very clearly – that we are prepared to face a stress factor from outside. Inside the Parliament, including the Commission, something that I cherish quite a lot is that we stick together and we are going to make things at least better than they are. But that shows one thing, to me at least – the European Parliament, just…

20

Jan

2026

EN Speech

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Air passenger rights (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner Tzitzikostas, dear colleagues, there is no other way to put this, other than to say that the European Council is trying to take away 60 % of the compensation of all passengers. Sixty. By the way, the Council looks to be absent at the moment in that crucial debate, and I am happy that we can rely on politicians like Commissioner Tzitzikostas in order to get the day rollin…

16

Dec

2025

BG Speech

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Presentation of the automotive package (debate)

26

Nov

2025

EN Speech

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EU position on the proposed plan and EU engagement towards a just and lasting peace for Ukraine (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner, I was born in the People's Republic of Bulgaria – back then part of Soviet-dominated communist world. I don't remember much of those times, but I know one thing for sure: the system was lying about everything. It was lying that there will be milk in the grocery stores and lied that nothing had happened in Chernobyl. The same system that lied that nothing had happened in…

8

Oct

2025

EN Answer

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United response to recent Russian violations of the EU Member States’ airspace and critical infrastructure (debate)

What I am saying is that we have to protect ourselves. The drones were flying over Poland, over Germany – your own country – they were flying over Denmark. That has nothing to do with the pipelines on the bottom of the Baltic Sea.…

8

Oct

2025

EN Speech

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United response to recent Russian violations of the EU Member States’ airspace and critical infrastructure (debate)

Madam President, dear Commissioner, colleagues, I think the fairy tale is over. The world we built and lived in after 1989 is over. It's not the same and it won't be the same again. We tore down the Berlin Wall in order to escape from the Iron Curtain. Today, we have to build a new wall – a drone wall – to keep the Iron Curtain away. Those of us who are born and raised east of Eden can sense this …

9

Jul

2025

EN Speech

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The EU’s post-2027 long-term budget: Parliament’s expectations ahead of the Commission’s proposal (debate)

Madam President, dear Commissioner, I'm sure that presenting the MFF proposal on the last working day of the Parliament is a coincidence, because it goes against the spirit of good cooperation and friendship between the European Parliament and the Commission. I do not know what is inside this draft report, but I just guess that if there is a single pot of money inside instead of a dedicated cohesi…

17

Jun

2025

BG Speech

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Latest developments on the revision of the air passenger rights and airline liability regulations (debate)

Madam President, Mr Tzitzikostas, I think that the new proposal for passenger rights has a fundamental task from which we must start. And she is, if she can, not to make things worse than they are now. I think that's good for the start of the conversation. I have been involved in many legislative procedures, but this is the first one that makes me gasp. First, because we had to find a balance betw…

16

Jun

2025

EN Speech

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Strengthening rural areas in the EU through cohesion policy (debate)

Madam President, Mr Vice-President, Mr Nesci, I would like to start with grazie mille to you for your work and dedicating so much of your focus to rural areas. I don't need a written speech to talk about rural areas, because I am proud to come from this kind of society. In rural areas, your neighbour is more than your family, and this is something that we should cherish and enjoy in Europe. And th…

6

May

2025

BG Speech

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A revamped long-term budget for the Union in a changing world (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner, honourable Members, I am making this statement as a Member of the European Parliament, but also as part of the reserve of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Bulgaria. Today in Bulgaria we celebrate the day of bravery and I believe that more than anything our budget needs bravery, because the dice of fate have assigned us to deal with problems that we did not think woul…

5

May

2025

EN Speech

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Ninth report on economic and social cohesion (debate)

Mr President, Mr Vice-President, dear colleagues, we are having this debate at a very crucial moment. I would like to start by thanking Mr Protas for his work, because he dedicated a lot of his time, and he is a decent man who is doing a good job. In times when such crucial decisions are taken, I think those who contribute have to be mentioned. I would like to congratulate Mr Fitto for his efforts…

1

Apr

2025

EN Speech

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Improving the implementation of cohesion policy through the mid-term review to achieve a robust cohesion policy post 2027 (debate)

Madam President, Onorevole Fitto, ladies and gentlemen, dear colleagues, European cohesion policy has been responsible for billions of investments in kindergartens, in schools, in water supply systems and in energy efficiency projects. However, today it looks like a sleeping beauty. We have EUR 370 billion allocated for this policy, and we have only 10% spent to the final beneficiaries five years …

12

Mar

2025

EN Speech

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100 days of the new Commission – Delivering on defence, competitiveness, simplification and migration as our priorities (topical debate)

Mr President, Madam Vice-President, dear colleagues, I think those 100 days are among the toughest and hardest in the post-war history of Europe. I think it's time for leadership and for tough decisions, and only the strongest one will remain in history. I think the lessons have been learned from COVID, from the war in Ukraine, from the energy crisis and inflation. I think this time the European C…

12

Mar

2025

BG Speech

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Action Plan for the Automotive Industry (debate)

Colleagues, I have a task for you. There are 285 million cars in Europe. Let's assume that tomorrow morning they all become electric and live in unison with Mother Nature. Question: What will happen at eight o'clock in the evening when each of these electric vehicles is plugged into the power grid? Answer: There will be no light bulbs in Europe. Conclusion: We don't need any bans, we need a free m…

10

Mar

2025

BG Speech

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One-minute speeches on matters of political importance

Madam President, the Bulgarian state was established in 681, making it the oldest in the European Union. For nearly 14 centuries, we've learned that dealing with empires isn't easy. We started with the Byzantine, then the Ottoman and finally the Soviet. And we learned the hard way that when an empire tells you, "We're taking a little more and there's no more," you can't usually believe that. That …

12

Feb

2025

EN Speech

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Need for targeted support to EU regions bordering Russia, Belarus and Ukraine (debate)

Madam President, dear Commissioner, I think one of the key characteristics of a family is that when some of the family suffers, the rest of the family members are getting together to support him or her and to help overcome the crisis. All the Member States, all the way from Finland down south to Bulgaria, representing more than one third of the European Union and 100 million in population, are the…

12

Feb

2025

EN Speech

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Commission Work Programme 2025 (debate)

Madam President, how good it is to have a speech when there is someone in the room, thank you for that. Dear colleagues, the European Parliament is not a political machine that wakes up only before elections. It's our duty to protect citizens every single day – every single day. It doesn't matter if we talk about travellers, consumers or workers. It's our duty to protect them. If you board a plane…

20

Jan

2025

BG Speech

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One-minute speeches on matters of political importance

To form a government these days has proved to be a political luxury. It turned out to be difficult not to beat in the elections, but to form a regular cabinet. It's hard not to be first, but to rule. Alas, this also happened in Bulgaria. After several years of darkness, experiments, a point was put with the election of a regular government at the end of last week. The formation of this government …

26

Nov

2024

BG Speech

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Full accession of Bulgaria and Romania to the Schengen Area: the urgent need to lift controls at internal land borders (debate)

13

Nov

2024

EN Speech

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The devastating floods in Spain, the urgent need to support the victims, to improve preparedness and to fight the climate crisis (debate)

Madam President, dear colleagues, we owe humility to the victims of the floods, and we owe a rapid response to those who survived. Why do we owe this? Because last week was Spain, but before that we had plenty of other countries. It's obviously a European problem; we need a European solution. I think our next big European target should be zero deaths from natural disasters. In order to achieve tha…

23

Oct

2024

EN Speech

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The important role of cities and regions in the EU – for a green, social and prosperous local development (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner, dear colleagues, let me get straight to the point: every problem is local, every solution we vote here is implemented locally. This is why, no matter what happens with cohesion policy in the future, no matter what kind of reforms we are going to conduct, this policy should remain local. It should be based on the shared management principle. But we have a bigger problem …

19

Sep

2024

BG Speech

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Continued financial and military support to Ukraine by EU Member States (RC-B10-0028/2024)

Mr President, the railway line between Sofia and Gyueshevo was opened on 16 July 1910. For 115 years now, the Bulgarian train has been waiting and cannot pass on the other side of the border. He can't, because there's no line. You are probably wondering why I am bothering you with a problem that is in a region between two countries, one of which, on top of that, is not part of the European Union. …