What Emil spoke about.

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BG Written Statement

Situation in Afghanistan (debate)

The situation in Afghanistan is constantly escalating and has the potential to create a very serious crisis, similar to the one of 2015. It is very important that Europe looks eastward along the external European borders, which we need to strengthen and reinforce. Our direct responsibility is the security and safety of millions of European citizens and we must do everything necessary so that jihad…

20

May

2026

BG Question

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Rights, support and protection of victims of crime (debate)

Commissioner, colleagues, there is no room for emotion in legislation, but when it comes to a revision of the Victims' Rights Directive, there are human destinies behind every text. I am a lawyer by profession and over the years I have faced various cases. I know that human pain speaks much more than the most startling statistics. Today, more and more victims do not call for help on the street. Th…

19

May

2026

BG Speech

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EU cybersecurity and preparedness in view of advanced AI systems (debate)

Madam President, Commissioner, honourable Members, when we talk about cybersecurity, we are no longer just talking about protecting computer systems. We are talking about whether our transport infrastructure will work, whether our electricity grids will work, whether our hospitals will be protected, whether the banks will withstand an attack, whether democracy will withstand manipulation. Today, a…

9

Mar

2026

BG Speech

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Harmonising certain aspects of insolvency law (short presentation)

21

Jan

2026

BG Speech

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Restoring control of migration: returns, visa policy and third-country cooperation (topical debate)

Mr President, either Europe controls migration or migration controls Europe. There is no middle road. And let's be honest. We have watched for too long how the system is circumvented, how the rules are neglected and how citizens' trust is melting. Bulgaria saw the danger early on, but others underestimated it and we are now harvesting the fruits – security risks and social stability being undermin…

10

Sep

2025

BG Speech

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Serious threats to aviation and maritime transport from Global Navigation Satellite System interference: urgent need to build resilience against spoofing and jamming (debate)

Madam President, disruptions to the global navigation system have grown exponentially since the start of the war in Ukraine. The data from Bulgaria clearly prove the trend. From one in 2021, cases increased to 183 in 2022, 199 in 2022, 312 in 2024, and by September of this year they were 128. These statistics also cover the case of the flight of the President of the European Commission from 31 Aug…

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

BG Speech

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Fight against money laundering and terrorist financing: listing Russia as a high-risk third country in the EU (debate)

Mr President, at a time when the criminal world is becoming more and more inventive and new technologies are facilitating cross-border operations and the circumvention of laws, dirty financial flows are generating billions in losses and the war that Russia started in Europe has, as is known, unleashed dangerous trends related to arms trafficking, massive money laundering and terrorist financing sc…

24

Apr

2024

BG Speech

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The sixth Anti-Money Laundering Directive - Anti-Money Laundering Regulation - Establishing the Authority for Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (joint debate - Anti-money laundering)

Mr President, Commissioner, honourable Members, together with my colleague Eva Maria Popcheva and the shadow rapporteurs, the Presidency and the Commission, we have come all the way. But we owe our gratitude to all those who participated in this difficult legislative process. I thank the rapporteurs for the other files of the anti-money laundering package, the Chairs and Secretariat of the ECON an…

24

Apr

2024

BG Speech

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The sixth Anti-Money Laundering Directive - Anti-Money Laundering Regulation - Establishing the Authority for Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (joint debate - Anti-money laundering)

Dear Madam President, dear Commissioner, dear ladies and gentlemen, when we started working on the anti-money laundering and anti-terrorist financing package, it was obvious that we were not ready for battle, but had to wage war. Today, I am confident that with the new legislation we are giving the European Union an arsenal with which to effectively protect its financial stability. At a time when …

17

Oct

2023

BG Speech

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Schengen area: digitalisation of the visa procedure - Schengen area: amending the Visa Sticker Regulation (Joint debate – Schengen area)

Mr President, Commissioner, colleagues, I have worked on this dossier as a shadow rapporteur and I believe that we have managed to structure the text well and achieve a good result. The new digital visa procedures will speed up the process and make it more convenient and inexpensive for both visa applicants and Member States examining and processing applications. Moreover, the new digital visa wil…

15

Feb

2023

BG Speech

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EUCO conclusions: the need for the speedy finalisation of the Road Map (debate)

Madam President, they say that if there is a will, there will be a way. But the control against irregular migration will not become more effective, neither with loud calls nor with discriminatory barriers to Schengen enlargement, but only with adequate, rapid, solidarity-based and financially secured measures. There is no way to strengthen the EU's external borders without strong support for front…

1

Feb

2023

BG Speech

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Need for urgent update of the EU list of high-risk third countries for anti-money laundering and terrorist financing purposes (debate)

Madam President, we have asked for clarity on the Council's reasoning for the delayed decision on the delegated act, so I thank Minister Jessica Roswell for the explanations given. It is important for all of us that the fight against money laundering is carried out effectively, not only at internal level, I mean throughout the European Union, but also at international level, as dirty money knows n…

13

Dec

2022

BG Speech

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The recent JHA Council decision on Schengen accession (debate)

Mr President, the Council's decision to keep Bulgaria and Romania in the Schengen waiting room gives rise to anti-European discourse, which calls into question one of the greatest achievements of the European Union. We should not feed Euroscepticism with unfair double standards, especially now that Europe is not the same and we have to defend our values, and Schengen enlargement means more securit…

14

Sep

2022

BG Speech

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Illegal detention of the opposition leader in Bulgaria (topical debate)

Mr President, Commissioner, methods of authoritarian rule, repeatedly condemned here in this Chamber, were unscrupulously used by the government of Kiril Petkov and his Interior Minister Boyko Rashkov, who, by the way, was part of the repressive apparatus of the former communist regime in Bulgaria. By a final court decision, Mr Borisov's arrest was declared unlawful. The arrest warrant does not co…

4

May

2022

BG Speech

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Use of the Pegasus Software by EU Member States against individuals including MEPs and the violation of fundamental rights (topical debate)

Mr President, Commissioner, the unscrupulous use of spyware such as Pegasus is opening up a new front in the battle we are fighting to defend democracy and the rights of European citizens. Scandalous revelations of wiretapping of state leaders, politicians, journalists and human rights defenders raise alarm about gross violations of European legislation. Moreover, to violate the fundamental values…

23

Mar

2022

BG Speech

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Suisse Secrets - How to implement anti-money laundering standards in third countries (debate)

Mr President, scandals such as Panama Papers, Paradise Papers and Pandora Papers prove that money laundering remains a serious problem in Europe. To this long series of revelations, we must add the so-called ‘Swiss secrets’, which have shed light on the dubious business practices of the large Swiss bank Credit Suisse. This is not just the largest data leak by a major Swiss bank to date, but a scan…

20

Oct

2021

BG Speech

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Increased efforts to fight money laundering (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner, colleagues, according to the latest revelations in the Pandora Papers, it has become abundantly clear to everyone that we need a comprehensive European policy, a strengthened legislative framework on money laundering and terrorist financing. The new legislative package in this area is therefore much more than necessary and timely. It is very important that this framewor…