Prime Minister Nikolay Denkov Visits AUBG

On Monday, Oct. 24, Bulgarian Prime Minister Nikolay Denkov visited AUBG for the first time and gave a speech on the topic of Bulgarian transition to the Eurozone. The talk was initiated by Model European Union Blagoevgrad (MEU Blagoevgrad) in honor of their 10th anniversary and was held at ”Andrei Delchev” Auditorium.

Nikolay Denkov is a professor of physical chemistry and an academician at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. He has been the Deputy Minister of Education and Sciences from 2014 to 2016, and Minister of Education and Sciences in 2017 and between 2021-2022. On June 6, 2023, he was appointed as Prime Minister of the 58th Bulgarian Government.

The event started with an introductory speech from AUBG President Dr. Margee Ensign, who expressed her happiness about the visit of the Bulgarian Prime Minister and congratulated MEU Blagoevgrad for the great job they had done in organizing the event. 

“It is just about this sort of student initiative and leadership that the American University in Bulgaria was founded – to foster and to nurture democratic values and civic engagement,” Ensign said.

Her speech was followed by statements from the two co-presidents of MEU – Yani Dimanchev and Lilia Petrova. 

“Your presence, Sir, not only underscores the significance of this event but also represents your governance recognition of the crucial role that students and young leaders play in shaping the future of our nation,” Dimanchev said.

Petrova continued by saying: “Thank you, Prime Minister, and thank you AUBG leadership for making this event a reality and believing in the power of education, diplomacy, and leadership.”

After a brief introduction from President Ensign and a round of applause from the crowded auditorium, Prime Minister Denkov opened his speech: “If there is something that I miss in my current position, this is the interaction with the students, so first thank you very much for this invitation.” 

He first referred to the development of young people in Bulgaria and his faith in their future. “We are in Bulgaria because we believe that this is one of the best places in the world. If you have talent, knowledge, and if you want to work hard, you can live in the best possible way in Bulgaria,” Denkov said.

After that, he talked about his work as Premier of the Bulgarian Republic. “The reason why I took that job is that you realize you can change the history of the country,” and added that although power can be easily abused, it can also be used in the right direction and a person can make something very useful for their country.

He also mentioned the war in Ukraine and the conflict between Palestine and Israel as he emphasized on the importance of strong and well-educated leaders for progress in today’s geopolitical context. “You will have the chance after many years to make your decisions and these decisions could change the history of the countries that you live in. Believe me, it is a heavy burden but it is worth it to be prepared for it,” Denkov said.

Later, he moved on to the main topic of the event – the Bulgarian transition to the Eurozone. He explained the benefits of this change for Bulgarian society.

“We need to be better integrated into the economic life of Europe as they are one of the biggest markets in the world,” Denkov said, adding that a possible entry into the Eurozone will attract more investors in the country and will create better job opportunities for Bulgarians.

The Prime Minister made a comparison between Eastern and Western values and expressed that Bulgaria has to decide which way to follow in this situation. “It becomes clearer that the illusion of the third way is fading, and it is not because we do not want it but because the world is going very rapidly to a situation where the world could be divided again,” Denkov said.

He highlighted the fact that Bulgaria has its own choice, and that choice is called the European Union. Denkov was confident in the economic power of the EU and the values they are rooting for. “We want to share these values with the European Union because we believe this is the only direction that could give a positive and happy life to the people in Bulgaria,” he said.

“We have 5000 Bulgarians that live in Russia, and we have two million that live abroad to the West,” said the Prime Minister. He stated that Bulgarian citizens have made their choice as they want to belong to the Western world, and entering the Eurozone is another step in this direction.

He also commented on the problems regarding the accession of Bulgaria to Schengen. “The technical requirements were completed ten years ago, and we are still not in Schengen because there is no trust [from the EU] and it turns out there was a reason for this,” Denkov said. He gave examples of the anti-corruption policy in Bulgaria and the lack of meritocracy as the main reasons why Bulgaria is still not a part of Schengen. 

“I do believe Bulgaria belongs to the Eurozone. There is no promise, but we work very hard for this target [acceptance in the Eurozone] – Jan.1, 2025,” Denkov ended his speech which was followed by a round of applause.

In the Q&A session that followed, the audience raised questions regarding Euroscepticism, media liberty in Bulgaria, inflation, problems with the Turkey border, and more. The questions were moderated by Jean Crombois, an Associate Professor of EU Politics at AUBG.

After Denkov answered all of them, a short speech was given by the chairman of the AUBG Board of Trustees – Michael Marvin, who praised the work done by the AUBG students and thanked the Prime Minister once again for his visit.

“We try to combine our local visions with the European agenda and I think we are on the right way,” Denkov said in his conclusion.

Premier Denkov met with the AUBG Board of Trustees and talked with the press at Panitza Library before the end of his visit.