Balgarianovinite.com Prime Minister Rumen Radev was received on Thursday in Brussels by the leaders of NATO, the European Council, and the European Commission. Also part of the Prime Minister’s delegation were his deputies Alexander Poulev, Ivo Hristov, and Atanas Pekanov, as well as Foreign Minister Velislava Petrova of Defence Minister Dimitar Stoyanov.
In the afternoon, the Prime Minister held consecutive meetings with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa.
In a press conference after his meeting with Commission President von der Leyen, Radev stated that Bulgaria finally has a government with a clear agenda: to stabilize the budget, provide conditions for sustainable economic growth, strengthen the rule of law and root out corruption.
Radev thanked von der Leyen for the fruitful conversation held at a critical moment for Europe. “In a critical moment when our union needs clear vision and stability, needs a robust investment in competitiveness, instability and security, along with strong cohesion and agricultural policy, to guarantee the most important, the security and wellbeing of our citizens.” Radev also spoke about the Multiannual Financial Framework, saying that “together through the dialogue and discussions in front of us, we will find a balance and fair solutions, so to invest robustly in the defence and security and competitiveness, but not to forget that cohesion and agricultural policy are key pillars of our unity.” Speaking about European defence, Radev assured von der Leyen that “we will take full advantage of the SAFE instrument as a clear and reliable mechanism to increase our defence capabilities. This is our own responsibility to take care of our own security and the security of Europe as a whole.”
The European Commission President said that at their meeting, she and Radev exchanged views on “several strategic priorities to ensure our long-term prosperity and shared security,” starting with the upcoming reforms in Bulgaria.
She noted that thanks to the NextGenerationEU programme, Bulgaria has already received nearly EUR 3.3 billion in funding. However, there is the deadline in August 2026, so the goal is to unlock resources by then, and for this Bulgaria must maintain momentum on reforms. In this regard, she highlighted the good progress that Bulgaria has made in anti-corruption. “The establishment of the Anti-Corruption Commission is key to effectively pursue corruption at all levels. What really matters is that it can do this work in an independent manner. In this context, I very much welcome that the legislative process is already well underway. Your government is therefore delivering on this significant milestone,” she told Radev.
After discussing the challenges that the European Union faces with European Council President Costa, Radev stated that he is confident that the EU will find “a fair and balanced solution” while working on the next multiannual EU budget. He said Bulgaria does not want to see EU competitiveness aid widening the economic and technological gap between member states. He warned of “a risk that the money will flow mostly to the most developed countries.”
“So we [Radev and Costa] discussed how the money could be fairly distributed so that countries like Bulgaria, even like Portugal can be taken on board and can take part in developing the big European industrial projects,” the Prime Minister said.
Antonio Costa said about Radev: “He has a huge and very important experience in all the European affairs. This is not the first time that he came as a member of the European Council.” Costa noted: “Bulgaria is at the heart of the European Union. It is a member of the eurozone, a member of the Schengen area.”
Prime Minister Radev also discussed security and defence in Brussels with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte. The Prime Minister said that NATO’s task is to defend every inch of the Alliance’s territory. “In such challenging times, NATO must have robust investments in capabilities, have a clear vision and a feasible strategy, and take a realistic approach to the challenges,” he added. For his part, NATO Secretary General Rutte said that Bulgaria is an important ally and helps protect NATO’s eastern flank. “The Black Sea and Bulgaria play a key role for the Alliance. The country hosts forward land forces, which I visited some time ago and was very impressive,” he added. According to him, Bulgaria also makes an important contribution to the KFOR forces. Rutte said that Bulgaria’s military industry supports the entire Alliance. He also added that he and Prime Minister Radev have been great friends for many years.
During his trip to Belgium, Radev also visited the headquarters of the Belgian high-tech research centre IMEC in Leuven, a global leader in research and innovation in advanced semiconductor technologies. The centre is regarded as a key element of Europe’s efforts to achieve technological autonomy and develop its own capacity in this field. Radev’s visit confirms Bulgaria’s interest in deepening its economic ties with Belgium, including in the promising field of high technologies and innovation. The dialogue with IMEC also reflects Bulgaria’s ambition to position itself as a regional hub for microelectronics. The IMEC.START programme already participates as an official partner in the C3BG project, which includes leading academic, industrial and research organizations. Among the main partners are Technical University of Sofia, Sofia Tech Park and Sofia University St. Kliment Ohridski. Prime Minister Radev Meets EU Leaders, NATO Secretary General in Brussels 2026 THE NEWS FROM BULGARIA – NEWS AGENCY 2009-2025 2026-05-28 19:14:39 Latest news World news Country news Most important news latest news most important latest of the day Justice Petar Nizamov Feathers Petar Nizamov- Feathers Justice bg iustitia.bg iustitia iusticia usticia investigation Burgas Bulgaria news news of the last hour news of the day news of today Bulgaria news The news from Bulgaria blitz news top news most important most commented latest news Boyko Borisov news weather coronavirus news news weather facebook youtube facebook instagram news today news of the last minutes news today today news news bg news leading news hot news bg news site for news all news news bg news of the last hour latest latest news bg news of today news today news today news of the last hour latest news today news bg news news 24 hours news vesti bg novini news world bird bg bivol bg bivol trud bg novini latest news today novinite bg news hello bulgaria political party coat of arms delyan peevski scandalous Bulgarian National Television Free Europe Television scandal exclusive live tv live right now tv tv online tv program bg live now tv news online tv online live court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas district court Burgas appellate court Burgas prosecutor Burgas prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev Prosecutor Geshev Tsatsarov Ministry of Internal Affairs Burgas ODMR Burgas ODPR Burgas police Burgas district police Burgas prosecutor Tsatsarov SGS cases Varna court chairman of the SGS court decisions on civil cases decisions on cases Plovdiv court decision of the court decisions cases Varna court criminal cases district district court decisions work in the court SGS chairman of the SGS judges Sofia court post judges Plovdiv court Plovdiv judges Plovdiv Supreme Court Inspectorate Supreme Court Supreme Judicial Council lawyer lawyer criminal cases lawyer civil cases lawyer marriage cases lawyer administrative criminal law criminal process civil law civil process administrative law constitutional law