The European partners should provide financial support to Bulgaria and the countries close to the war in Ukraine, which are accepting refugees on their territory, said Prime Minister Kiril Petkov prior to the start of the informal European Council at the Palace of Versailles on Thursday, the Bulgarian Government's information service reported. Petkov was adamant that it would be impossible for individual member states to provide assistance alone to the people fleeing the war, which is why a joint European response is needed.

According to Petkov, Bulgaria should consider the possibility of Russia stopping natural gas supplies. "I don't believe things will come to that, but as I have stated many times before, the only way for Bulgaria to cope with such an extreme scenario would be to stop exporting electricity. The good thing is that I am seeing understanding from my European colleagues about this," he noted. In this context, Petkov added that Bulgaria is actively working on completing the construction of the gas interconnector with Greece, and is also focusing on investing in alternative energy sources, such as geothermal energy and solar batteries. Through all of these actions, Bulgaria will achieve its energy independence goals, Petkov said.

Answering a journalist's question about Bulgaria's position on a common European loan in response to the record-high natural gas prices, Petkov said that a grant aid mechanism should be considered, through which the European community can show its readiness to cover the costs.

"Ukraine's place is certainly in the EU, the question is when it will join the European family," the Bulgarian Prime Minister said.

Earlier on Thursday, Petkov conferred with French Minister of Economy and Finance Bruno Le Maire. Their meeting was a continuation of the discussions Petkov has with French President Emmanuel Macron in February in Brussels. The Bulgarian Prime Minister and the French Minister discussed the deepening of bilateral economic cooperation in the context of joint infrastructure projects, the Bulgarian Government said in a press release.

We cannot afford children, women and civilian casualties. I really hope for more wisdom in it's leaders. It’s time for this madness to end. We should have the EU and NATO working in coordination. We can't have a separate discoordination. By working together we show that strength is in unity. Having a strategic positioning of the EU and NATO forces and one strategy is a key point forward in order to have independence of our decision.
(Should the EU ban Russian oil and gas?) This is a very delicate issue which should be assessed among all member states. We have to speak with one voice.

The European Union's economic and strategic autonomy will be top of the agenda at an informal two-day meeting of its leaders, starting on Thursday in Versailles, France. Discussions at the casual summit, hosted by President Emmanuel Macron, are expected to build on unity developed around the Ukraine crisis, the bloc's dependence on imported energy and its reliance on the NATO military alliance.
#Versailles #France #Macron #Russia #Ukraine #Energy #inflation
In a published invitation letter to members of the European Council ahead of the meeting, its chief Charles #Michel said: "In the light of recent events, it is more urgent than ever that we take decisive steps toward building our sovereignty, reducing our dependencies and designing a new growth and investment model."

A draft of the EU summit declaration said leaders would pledge to "phase out" the bloc's dependence on Russian gas, oil and coal. Plans to cut Russian gas imports by two-thirds within a year were outlined by the European Commission on Tuesday. Russia supplies almost 40 percent of EU gas and a quarter of its oil, said the Associated Press.

The Financial Times said "rapid decision making" achieved by the EU in the past two weeks had "confounded critics", but noted that differences remain on "wider strategic objectives", such as energy investment strategy.

Michel recently described a "surge of unity" in the bloc in response to the conflict in Ukraine. In a March 1 social media post, he said: "The Europe of Defense was born this weekend. Today we witness a surge of unity that is unfailing. Confronted with the essential, we chose to be solid."

Michel also said this week that Ukraine's EU membership application would be discussed, and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told Euronews that admission for Ukraine was a realistic prospect.

Euronews analysis said the crisis "had injected the EU with the overdue resolve it needed to truly face up to the adverse geopolitics of its surroundings, brushing aside any remaining taboos and prejudices".

The EU made an unprecedented decision last month to send 450 million euros ($500 million) in military aid to Ukraine for weapons. It has never previously funded the arming of a country at war.

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