Vessela Tcherneva invited to speak about European solidarity during Council of Europe conference

The refugee crisis and the migration flows, headed towards Europe, put under unprecedented pressure the solidarity in the EU. Germany, which is the most popular end destination for refugees, is at the moment a pillar of the solidarity principle while other member states, especially in Central and Eastern Europe, resorted to national solutions and closing of the borders. Turning the EU from a value-based union to a battleground for the national interest and ambitions of the member states will dramatically change its nature. This will be a different Union from the one we dreamt about after the fall of the Berlin Wall more than 25 years ago.

The above was part of the analysis that Vessela Tcherneva presented on the topic of foreign policy challenges to European solidarity during the conference “Democratic Security Based on European Unity and Cooperation”, held on 8-10 February 2016 at the National Assembly of the Republic of Bulgaria in the framework of the Bulgarian Presidency of the Parliamentary Foreign Affairs Committees of the Council of Europe Member States. The European Council on Foreign Relations was the only non-governmental organisation whose representative was invited to speak during the event that was attended by parliamentarians from more than 40 states.

During the conference, statements were made also by Tsetska Tsacheva, President of the Bulgarian National Assembly; Rumiana Bachvarova, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Internal Affairs of Bulgaria; Daniel Mitov, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria; Dzhema Grozdanova, Chairperson of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Bulgarian National Assembly; Pedro Agramunt, Chairman of the EPP Group of PACE; and Gabriella Battaini-Dragoni – Deputy Secretary General of the Council of Europe.