What Andrey spoke about.

23

Apr

2024

BG Speech

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Establishing the Reform and Growth Facility for the Western Balkans (debate)

Mr President, colleagues, Commissioner, in recent years, the European Union has put forward many initiatives and instruments to motivate the European integration of the countries of the Western Balkans. The Reform and Growth Facility is another such example. Those in power in these countries need to be bolder in reforming and overcoming the obstacles of the past. The six billion euros from this in…

23

Apr

2024

EN Speech

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The use of Russian frozen assets to support Ukraine’s victory and reconstruction (debate)

Madam President, I think it is very disrespectful if you don’t take your headset and hear what colleagues are saying. You removed your headset when Mr Yordanov talked. I don’t understand why you don’t want to hear what colleagues are telling you.…

23

Apr

2024

BG Speech

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The use of Russian frozen assets to support Ukraine’s victory and reconstruction (debate)

Madam President, colleagues, Mr Borrell, there is a Bulgarian saying: "He who breaks, he will buy". It is logical that those who, with bombs, tanks, drones, weapons, destroy civilian infrastructure, hospitals, schools, housing, cultural institutions and countless other buildings, should also bear the financial responsibility for repairing the damage they have caused. The law makes it abundantly cl…

13

Mar

2024

EN Speech

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Allegations of corruption and misuse of EU funds in Spain during the pandemic (topical debate)

Mr President, dear colleagues, the left part of this Chamber – Socialists, Greens, Communists – are using every opportunity they get to attack EPP governments about perceived breaches of rule of law and misuse of power and positions. However, Portugal and Malta, which are governed by socialists, as well as these recent revelations about the Spanish Government, are the latest example of blatant cor…

28

Feb

2024

BG Speech

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Deepening EU integration in view of future enlargement (debate)

Madam President, colleagues, enlargement of the European Union is a major motivational tool for reforms in candidate countries. On the one hand, we must not disappoint the citizens of these countries and leave Russia the opportunity to change public attitudes in candidate countries. On the other hand, the political elite, both ruling and opposition to these countries, have a huge responsibility to…

28

Feb

2024

BG Speech

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The murder of Alexei Navalny and the need for EU action in support of political prisoners and oppressed civil society in Russia (debate)

Mr President, Alexei Navalny knew that on his return to Russia he would be killed by the regime, and in a very painful way, but he nevertheless went to his homeland. Navalny will forever remain a symbol for the other Russia – Russia of democracy, goodness, culture, literature, music, the great achievements of science. Navalny began to live his eternal life and will remain this symbol of a democrat…

27

Feb

2024

EN Speech

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Closer ties between the EU and Armenia and the need for a peace agreement between Azerbaijan and Armenia (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner, dear colleagues, we have always strongly supported the Armenian reforms towards establishing a stable, well-functioning democracy, while also advocating for peace in the region and the end of the hostilities with Azerbaijan. From one side, it is important to note the cynical behaviour of Russia. Armenia relied on its commitment and was heavily deceived. This logically l…

7

Feb

2024

BG Speech

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The fight against hate speech and disinformation: responsibility of social platforms within the Digital Services Act (topical debate)

Madam President, freedom of speech and expression is also linked to the responsibility not to allow hate speech, calls for violence and disinformation into the public domain in support of criminal ideologies such as National Socialism and Communism. I know that it may come as a surprise to some colleagues to hear that freedom of speech does not include the freedom to lie and spread hatred and disi…

6

Feb

2024

BG Speech

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Russiagate: allegations of Russian interference in the democratic processes of the European Union (debate)

Madam President, it is crystal clear that the aim of the Russian political establishment is to divide and weaken the European Union, to make the European Union ineffective, imbued with conflicts and disagreements. Examples of topics on which Russia is working and seeking disunity by spreading disinformation are many - economy, migration, energy, social and family topics, history, regional conflict…

17

Jan

2024

BG Speech

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Situation in Serbia following elections (debate)

on behalf of the ALDE Group. - Madam President, I support Serbia's European integration and believe that it is non-alternative. The idea of the European Union is to overcome the hostility imposed on us by the ideologies of the past. Serbia has a serious influence on most Western Balkan countries, which increases its responsibility. In addition to close cooperation with Russia, domestically we obse…

22

Nov

2023

BG Speech

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30 years of Copenhagen criteria - giving further impetus to EU enlargement policy (debate)

Mr President, the reunification of our continent on the basis of our common European values is the most important condition for our security and prosperity. The transformative power of the European Union must be renewed every day with clear plans and a timeframe for the admission of the new member states. Wherever we leave a grey zone in Europe, Russia will try to fill it. This was felt on their b…

22

Nov

2023

BG Speech

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This is Europe - Debate with the Prime Minister of Bulgaria, Nikolay Denkov (debate)

Madam President, Commissioner, Members, Welcome, dear Mr. Denkov, dear Mrs. Gabriel! I am very happy that you are among us today. Bulgaria has a pro-European, democratic, predictable government, of which you are Prime Minister, mainly thanks to the state behavior of the GERB party and its chairman Mr. Borisov, thanks to our desire for Bulgaria to get out of the trap of hatred and chaos of the last…

18

Oct

2023

BG Speech

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Fighting disinformation and dissemination of illegal content in the context of the Digital Services Act and in times of conflict (debate)

, – Mr President, social networks have a huge responsibility to citizens all over the world. They are not just tech companies, they are powerful portals for disseminating information, and with this power comes the responsibility to protect consumers from malicious actors who spread disinformation, hatred, glorification of terrorism and violence. Since the beginning of Putin's war against Ukraine, …

18

Oct

2023

EN Speech

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The despicable terrorist attacks by Hamas against Israel, Israel’s right to defend itself in line with humanitarian and international law and the humanitarian situation in Gaza (debate)

Mr President, a few clear points. I strongly condemn the dreadful terrorist attack that Hamas carried out against Israel. Israel has the right to defend itself against terrorism, in accordance with international law, combating terrorism, not targeting the Palestinian civilian population. We must recognise and support this right while striving for a peaceful resolution. The fight against terrorism …

17

Oct

2023

BG Speech

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Effectiveness of the EU sanctions on Russia (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner, honourable Members, the sanctions against Russia, as well as the fight against Russia's spy networks in the European Union, have different levels of effectiveness in different Member States. We need to ensure that the cash flows going to the Russian budget are kept to a minimum. They are used to continue the war in Ukraine, to destroy both human lives and the infrastruc…

3

Oct

2023

EN Speech

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Recent developments in the Serbia-Kosovo dialogue, including the situation in the northern municipalities in Kosovo (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner, Council, colleagues, first of all, all those responsible for the attack by the Serb armed group need to be brought to justice. To achieve this, there needs to be an in-depth investigation. Who was behind the attack, who gave the orders, and where did the weapons and other equipment come from? Putin’s Russia is strongly interested in destabilising the Balkans. Therefore …

3

Oct

2023

EN Speech

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Situation in Nagorno-Karabakh after Azerbaijan’s attack and the continuing threats against Armenia (debate)

Madam President, Commissioner, Minister, dear colleagues, I cannot hide I am very sad. We are witnessing a huge failure of the international community in the last decades. There were three basic principles, apparently agreed by Azerbaijan and Armenia, namely: non-use of force, the right of self-determination and territorial integrity. Azerbaijan violated two of them by using force on multiple occa…

12

Sep

2023

BG Speech

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Combating the normalisation of far-right and far-left discourses including antisemitism (debate)

In recent years, we have seen an increase in the spread of far-left and far-right speeches, which find their place in both traditional media and social networks. In many countries, the manipulative portrayal of historical events, facts and personalities remains a breeding ground for anti-democratic ideologies and contributes to the normalisation of hate speech. I will give an example of the conten…

12

Jul

2023

EN Speech

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Situation in Lebanon (RC-B9-0323/2023, B9-0323/2023, B9-0324/2023, B9-0325/2023, B9-0326/2023, B9-0327/2023, B9-0328/2023) (vote)

Madam President, I would like to add to this paragraph the following sentence: ‘stresses that the EU funds should not reach Hezbollah’.

12

Jul

2023

BG Speech

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Conclusions of the European Council meeting of 29-30 June 2023, in particular the recent developments in the war against Ukraine and in Russia (debate)

Mr President, the European Union and, of course, NATO must continue with assistance to Ukraine, macro-financial assistance, economic assistance and, of course, military assistance, in order for Ukraine to regain its territorial integrity and sovereignty. That's what we should want. Yes, we want peace, and I address all those who say they want peace. We all want peace, so we must insist on Putin. T…

11

Jul

2023

BG Speech

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Accession to the Schengen area (short presentation)

Mr President, Bulgarian and Romanian citizens turn to us with just discontent that for more than 10 years nothing has happened and the Council has not taken the decision to admit Bulgaria and Romania to the Schengen area. There's always some excuse, some hypocritical argument for it. Last week the last hypocrisy used by the Netherlands disappeared, and this is the official termination of the Coope…

13

Jun

2023

EN Speech

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Situation in Lebanon (debate)

Mr President, Mr Commissioner, colleagues, for several years now, we have been witnessing the dire situation unfolding in Lebanon with a social, economic and political crisis entangled to create an extremely worrying situation which is becoming more difficult day by day. We must address this and advocate for a sustainable path towards political stability, prosperity and progress. I would like to u…

15

Mar

2023

EN Speech

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EU-Armenia relations (A9-0036/2023 - Andrey Kovatchev) (vote)

–Mr President, I would like to move the following oral amendment to Amendment 5 on paragraph 4: ‘Condemns the ongoing blockade of the Lachin corridor, which is worsening the humanitarian crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh; condemns the deadly incident between Azerbaijan and the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh on 5 March 2023, which resulted in multiple deaths and once again jeopardised the process towards e…

14

Mar

2023

EN Speech

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EU-Armenia relations (debate)

Madam President, Commissioner, dear colleagues, I hear your voice and I share your sadness about the decades—long non—resolution of this conflict causing so much suffering for all people in the region. This is a failure not only of the Minsk Group co-chairs, but of the entire international community. For a long time we left the initiative to Putin, and his only goal is to increase his influence in…

14

Mar

2023

EN Speech

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EU-Armenia relations (debate)

Madam President, dear colleagues, Commissioner, tomorrow in the context of the ongoing three—month long blockade of the Lachin corridor, we will vote in the European Parliament on the report on EU—Armenia relations. I have proposed amendments to reflect the cutting of this vital connection with Armenia, which is worsening the humanitarian crisis for the population of Nagorno-Karabakh. I urge Azerb…