Tzvetan Vassilev Asked the EU for More Solidarity towards Bulgaria

In a an interview for the prestigious German newspaper Handelsblatt, the Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Corpbank AD Tzvetan Vassilev, asked the most powerful states in Europe for more solidarity towards Bulgaria.

In a an interview for the  prestigious German newspaper Handelsblatt Tzvetan Vassilev, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Corpbank AD, asked the most powerful states in Europe for more solidarity towards Bulgaria and Romania.

"I do not think that Bulgarian or Romanian immigrants present the biggest challenge for Europe. If Bulgaria and Romania had received the same financing from Brussels as Spain, Portugal, and Greece did, they would have done a much better job. I find  this unequal treatment rather unjust," said Tzvetan Vassilev before Handelsblatt. He emphasized that at the moment Bulgaria receives less financing from Europe, compared to the amount Bulgaria contributes to EU’s budget. He also shared his concern about the growing social divergence between the rich and the poor countries within the European Union in the last few years.

"During the last thirty years mostly German and French companies  started operating in Eastern Europe. This happened freely and they did not have any real competition. In exchange, we needed real help to make our economy more competitive but that never happened," Vassilev commented.

According to him, Europe needs to learn how to show more solidarity and tolerance in order for Member States to help each other and to get along better. "Everyone on the continent depends on one another. That is why it is extremely important to settle any misunderstandings," Vassilev added.

Tzvetan Vassilev’s interview for Handelsblatt could be found below:

- The Bulgarian version, translated by the Presa newspaper;

- The German original version of the interview;

- The English summary of the interview.