Rada LAYKOVA

Policy topics Rada LAYKOVA is active on

What Rada LAYKOVA has said (29)

• 2026-06-16 “Thank you, mister president. 3 races are underway, money, intelligence, and biology. And the European Union has entered none of them as a builder. The European Union passed the world's 1st comprehensive AI act and called it leadership. And the result is that American companies are building EU only product tiers, which are slower, weaker, and sometimes even absent from our market. While the EU is writing the rules, the rails are being built elsewhere. Our stablecoins are American. Our EU data boundary is Microsoft's architecture. Meanwhile, China built Enbridge. The US built Bio Radar concepts and stablecoin dominance. Both are racing to control the rails of money, intelligence, and biology. And Europe is racing to control the paperwork. Sovereignty is not a regulation. It is owning the chips, the models, the payment rails, and the biosurveillance networks. That's the actual infrastructure of the next century. Thank you.”
  EU digital & tech sovereignty
• 2026-06-16 “First, I want to remind you that Europe and the European nations do not come down to the EU. And if this EU model comes to an end, then Europe will not cease to exist. And we talk about sovereignty and we talk about sovereignty in digital infrastructure and our solutions is more power to the nation state, as you know, because this is the only way that decisions can be made and implemented. The only way that the decisions that are being made in Brussels, in Frankfurt, that force our countries to enter the eurozone, my country, Bulgaria, are not going to be in place and sovereign.”
  EU political integration
• 2026-06-16 “1st, I want to remind you that Europe and the European nations, do not come down to the EU. And if this EU model comes to an end, then Europe will not, cease to exist. And we talk about sovereignty, and we talk about sovereignty in digital infrastructure. And our solutions is more power to the nation state, as you know, because this is the only way that decisions can be made and implemented. The only way that the decisions that are being made in Brussels, in Frankfurt, that force our countries to enter the Eurozone, my country, Bulgaria, are not going to be into place. And sovereign”
  EU political integration
• 2026-06-16 “Thank you, Mr. President. Three races are underway. Money, intelligence and biology. And the European Union has entered none of them as a builder. The European Union passed the world's first comprehensive AI act and called it leadership, and the result is that American companies are building EU only product tiers, which are slower, weaker and sometimes even absent from our market. While the EU is writing the rules, the rails are being built elsewhere. Our stablecoins are American. Our EU data boundary is Microsoft's architecture. Meanwhile, China built Enbridge, the US built bio radar concepts and stablecoin dominance. Both are racing to control the rails of money, intelligence and biology, and Europe is racing to control the paperwork. Sovereignty is not a regulation. It is owning the chips, the models, the payment rails, and the bio surveillance networks. That's the actual infrastructure of the next century.”
  EU digital & tech sovereignty
• 2026-02-25 “P-000804/2026 Answer given by Mr Brunner on behalf of the European Commission In its Implementing Decision (EU) 2025/2323 1 the Commission identified Bulgaria as a Member State facing a significant migratory situation and at risk of migratory pressure. In accordance with Article 62 of Regulation (EU) 2024/1351 on Asylum and Migration Management 2 , a Member State facing a significant migratory situation may request a full or partial deduction of its solidarity contributions. This request is then assessed by the Commission and, based on that assessment, the Council may adopt a decision authorising the deduction of the solidarity contribution. The procedure may be initiated by the Member State concerned and can be asked at any time during the annual migration management cycle. Since Bulgaria has been identified as a Member State at risk of migratory pressure, it has a priority access to the Permanent EU Migration Support Toolbox established by Article 6(3) of Regulation (EU) 2024/1351 3 . The Commission does not disclose or publish bilateral exchanges with Member States. 1 OJ L, 2025/2323, 14.11.2025, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/dec_impl/2025/2323/oj. 2 OJ L, 2024/1351, 22.5.2024, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2024/1351/oj. 3 Please see footnote 2.”
  Asylum & border control
• 2025-09-15 “E-003543/2025 Answer given by Mr Dombrovskis on behalf of the European Commission Euro cash has legal tender status in the EU 1 . In its proposal on the legal tender of euro banknotes and coins 2 , the Commission emphasizes the need to ensure sufficient and effective access to cash, as without it, citizens cannot use cash for payments and its legal tender status would be undermined. For the same reason, access to various cash services should be ensured, in particular cash withdrawals and cash deposits on payment accounts of credit institutions. Pending the entry into force of the regulation, the Commission expects Member States to abide by the principles set out in the final report of the 3 rd Euro Legal Tender Experts Group 3 . While non-binding, these principles were endorsed by all Member States. The principles emphasise that measures should be taken, where appropriate, that ensure that credit institutions holding payments accounts for citizens and businesses continue to provide essential banking services throughout the euro area. Furthermore, while other possible channels for cash withdrawals and deposits outside the banking sector, such as cash-back in shop, have the potential to complement the cash services of banks, their inherent limitations exclude that they could work as a replacement of ATM networks or cash services at bank branches. Therefore, ELTEG concluded that these solutions do not relieve banks from their social role to provide adequate cash services to citizens and business customers, with the needed geographical coverage. To ensure financial inclusion, Article 16(1) of the Payment Accounts Directive (PAD) 4 requires Member States to ensure that all credit institutions or a sufficient number of credit institutions offer payment accounts with basic features (PABF) to consumers. Article 17 establishes a list of services that need to be provided for a PABF, including services enabling cash withdrawals 5 . On the basis of the information available to the Commission, the relevant national law transposing PAD requires that all credit institutions that offer payment accounts to consumers have to offer payment accounts with basic features. Whether a decision by a credit institution not to provide cash services to their clients is in line with EU law (and the national law transposing EU law) needs to be assessed in each individual case and is a responsibility of the national competent authorities, which the Commission will contact to clarify the situation. 1 Article 128 (1) TFEU lays down the legal tender status of euro banknotes, and article 11 of Regulation EC/974/98 does so with regard to euro coins. 2 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:52023PC0364. 3 https://ec.europa.eu/transparency/expert-groups-register/screen/expertgroups/consult?lang=en&groupId=3754&fromMembers=true&memberType=4&memberId=93719. 4 Directive 2014/92/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 July 2014 on the comparability of fees related to payment accounts, payment account switching and access to payment accounts with basic features (OJ L 257, 28.8.2014, p. 214, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/dir/2014/92/oj). 5 Article 17(1) point c refers to ‘services enabling cash withdrawals within the EU from a payment account at the counter or at automated teller machines during or outside the credit institution’s opening hours.”
  Means of payment (cash vs digital) · Cash as means of payment
• 2025-05-08 “E-001855/2025 Answer given by Ms Albuquerque on behalf of the European Commission Under Article 30 of the Solvency II Directive 1 , the financial supervision of insurance undertakings with their head office located in the territory of a Member State is the sole responsibility of the supervisory authority of that Member State. The Commission’s opinion issued according to Article 17(4) of the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) Regulation 2 concerns the way and the extent to which the national supervisor exercised its supervisory powers under the Solvency II Directive following the detection of non-compliance by a Slovakian insurance undertaking with Solvency II requirements. Article 17(4) of the EIOPA Regulation does not confer on the Commission any powers to open an autonomous investigation upon any individual undertaking that is the object of the national competent authority’s supervision. This provision provides that the Commission’s formal opinion shall take into account the EIOPA’s recommendation. The factual background and assessment of the situation of the Slovak insurance undertaking referred to in the Commission’s opinion are based on the evidence and assessment provided by the national supervisory authority, which is the sole authority empowered to exercise direct supervisory competence towards insurance undertakings under its jurisdiction, and by EIOPA, including in the context of inspections of a collaboration platform. The Commission and EIOPA discussed the findings referred to in the EIOPA Recommendation and concurred that supervisory action was necessary. 1 OJ L 335, 17.12.2009, p. 1–155. 2 OJ L 331, 15.12.2010, p. 48–83.”
  Financial regulation
• 2025-01-30 “E-000427/2025 Answer given by High Representative/Vice-President Kallas on behalf of the European Commission Sanctions are an essential element of the EU’s foreign policy and contribute to the preservation of international peace and security, the fundamental values of the EU, such as the rule of law, democracy and human rights. Sanctions imposed by the EU have a preventive and administrative character, aiming at encouraging a change in behaviour of those targeted. Under Article 29 of the Treaty of the European Union and Article 215 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, the Council of the European Union takes decisions to adopt, renew or lift sanctions regimes. EU restrictive measures in force are kept under periodical review by the Council. A review allows to assess whether the goals for imposition of restrictive measures were achieved and the targeted persons still fulfil the listing criteria. Ultimately, EU restrictive measures are extended by unanimity of all Member States in the Council. Following a proposal for restrictive measures by either the High Representative/Vice-President or a Member State, the Council decides whether to adopt a proposal or reject it. In the event of the lack of unanimity in the Council, the author of a proposal for restrictive measures may decide whether to submit a revised or new proposal. The Council Presidency may also submit a modified proposal taking into account the comments of the Member States.”
  EU-Russia relations (from March 2022) · EU competences on foreign affairs
• 2025-01-30 “E-000425/2025 Answer given by Ms Albuquerque on behalf of the European Commission There is no general exemption for critical economic, infrastructure-related or climate-related situations from EU restrictive measures (sanctions). The sanctions regulations need to specifically foresee an exception for such situations in each provision in order to temporarily stop the application of the specific measure in question. There are exceptions that need an assessment by the competent authority of a Member State in order to grant an authorisation, others apply without additional steps if such situations arise. Member States are responsible for the implementation and enforcement of EU sanctions. The Commission oversees the uniform implementation by Member States, including exceptions. The Commission can also launch an infringement procedure against Member States for failure to comply with their obligations under EU law, including for the misapplication of EU sanctions. Should there be an identified need to suspend or lift measures to respond to a critical economic, infrastructure-related or climate-related situation and the sanctions regulations do not foresee a specific exception, such an exception could be introduced by Member States acting unanimously in a same manner as for other decisions concerning EU restrictive measures.”
  EU competences on foreign affairs
• 2025-01-24 “E-000323/2025 Answer given by Executive Vice-President Séjourné on behalf of the European Commission The Commission is determined to play its part in improving the business climate in the EU and creating framework conditions that strengthen the global competitiveness of EU companies. The recently adopted Competitiveness Compass 1 lays out the roadmap ahead in this regard, building on the Commission’s extensive dialogue with the business community, along with the findings of recent reports taking stock of the EU’s competitiveness. As highlighted by the Annual Single Market and Competitiveness Report 2 , regulatory burdens are seen as obstacles to investment by two thirds of EU companies. Significantly reducing excessive regulatory burdens and simplifying compliance will therefore be one of the paramount priorities going forward. The Commission has recently presented a first set of simplification Omnibus packages, namely on sustainability and on investment simplification. These will be followed by further simplification measures to reduce the cost and complexity of regulation borne by companies. In conjunction, the Commission has put forward the Clean Industrial Deal, a bold business plan to support the competitiveness and resilience of our industry. The Deal will accelerate decarbonisation, while securing the future of manufacturing in Europe. The Deal will be supported by a new State aid Framework to allow for simplified and quicker approval of State aid measures to the roll-out of renewable energy, deploy industrial decarbonisation and ensure sufficient manufacturing capacity of clean technologies in Europe, while avoiding market distortions. 1 https://commission.europa.eu/document/download/10017eb1-4722-4333-add2-e0ed18105a34_en 2 https://single-market-economy.ec.europa.eu/publications/2025-annual-single-market-and-competitivenessreport_en”
  Overall simplification of regulation in the EU · EU industrial funding
• 2025-01-24 “E-000322/2025 Answer given by Ms Albuquerque on behalf of the European Commission Article 1(6) of the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA)’s founding Regulation 1 (Regulation (EU) No 1094/2010 or ‘EIOPA Regulation’) sets out that EIOPA will act independently and objectively and in the interests of the EU. The Commission is not competent to review the EIOPA’s decision to refuse access to documents. Neither is the Commission competent to examine the EIOPA’s alleged lack of transparency. The Commission notes that EIOPA acts independently in accordance with the EIOPA Regulation. Pursuant to Article 3 of the EIOPA Regulation, the chairperson of EIOPA may be requested to hold confidential oral discussions with relevant participants of the competent committee of the European Parliament. 1 OJ L 331, 15.12.2010, p. 48–83.”
  Transparency requirements of EU institutions
• 2024-08-30 “P-001577/2024 Reply The information requested by the Honourable Member is not available to the Council. Implementation and enforcement of EU sanctions is the responsibility of the Member States. National authorities are competent regarding the investigation and prosecution of criminal offences, including those related to any violation of EU restrictive measures against Russia. The Council does not possess any information concerning such investigations and prosecutions. The extradition of EU nationals to third States is mainly governed by bilateral agreements concluded between the Member States and third States, and by agreements between the EU and certain third States. Following a discussion between Ministers for Justice on 4 June 2020 on the extradition of EU citizens to third countries in the light of the judgment of the Court of Justice in Case C-182/15 Petruhhin, in December 2020 Eurojust and the European Judicial Network produced a joint report on extradition to third countries (see https://www.eurojust.europa.eu/publication/jointreport-eurojust-and-ejn-extradition-eu-citizens-third-countries). Later the Commission published ‘Guidelines on Extradition to Third States’ (2022/C 223/01) and presented them at the meeting of the Council (Justice and Home Affairs) of 9-10 June 2022. The Council has not yet identified a need for additional measures to be taken at EU level.”
  EU law enforcement cooperation in criminal matters · Jurisdiction conflicts between EU and national courts
• “Thank you. Chair. Mrs. Lagarde. This Parliament, dear colleagues, has a clear task of exercising democratic control over the ECB. This is the only European institution that can do that. The report on the ECB that we are discussing today, however, ignores all the important aspects and focuses on the second hand minor Issues and ignoring the elephant in the room. Actually, it does ignore the difficulties related to the level of the cost of living and chooses to talk about the global climate change or Putin as the major threat threat. And most importantly, there's no reason why the digital euro is being implemented so quickly. Let me point some of them. First, the fully fledged alternative like gold and the dollar are fully ignored it. The report doesn't say how the confiscation of Russian assets affects the euro. Also, it ignores the fact that massively euros have been coming out of the printing press and how this affects today's situation. Also, what is the effect of the market and the link between the crisis and the the competitiveness of the European markets and the companies that are referred to as zombies? Also, how are the new programs going to be implemented in the ECB when the old ones are being phased out? For Bulgaria, the convergence criteria again were ignored and the forecasts turned out to be false. Thank you.”
  ECB monetary policy
• “Thank you. Chair, I want to make a statement on this report, because the European Parliament's job is to hold the Commission accountable, because it is the citizens who will pay for ignoring the Maastricht criteria, which are the rules that are meant to stop the euro from collapsing into a Ponzi scheme. And what did the European Parliament do? It appointed a rapporteur from Bulgaria's ruling party to assess the commission's view on data that came from that same ruling party. And what is this? Is this accountability instead of a system of checks and balances? We have a political theatre because the European Parliament ignored clear contradictions in the Commission's own convergence report and accepted incorrect budget numbers, hidden spending and inflated revenues. The European Parliament turned a blind eye to Bulgaria's suppressed referendum. And this isn't democracy. It's a staged performance because the Bulgarian people were denied the most basic democratic right to choose their own financial future.”
  Transparency requirements of EU institutions
• “Thank you. Chair. Commissioner Dombrovskis. My first remark on the recovery and resilience facilities, that it appears to function in parts as a mechanism to support budgets of certain member states through a large scale EU level borrowing. I come from a member state that experienced a scandalous conditioning on on the RF funds from Bulgaria, and our access to RF funds was tied to commitments such as closure of coal fueled power plants, which is an issue in Bulgaria with a very serious implication for national energy security, for regional stability and employment. And my question is, is it appropriate to make EU funding be conditionally linked to politically and socially sensitive reforms, um, especially when there is no broad national consensus on this? So in the context of Bulgaria's participation in the RF, how can the Commission ensure that the funding mechanisms support national development and they don't undermine the strategic autonomy of of my country? And further, there has been sufficient, um, public debate about how there has been public debate on how this is negotiated, allocated or used. And we see a pattern where different budgetary needs are basically substituted by. By this mechanism. So. Is the EU creating this depth structure that that risks the centralizing of power and the weakening of national sovereignty. And is that also a burden for future generations because Bulgaria faces the same future interest burden from EU level borrowing, such as wealthier states? And is it fair or sustainable to commit to collective debt without a clear say in how it is managed, or without safeguards to ensure that the benefits are shared proportionately?”
  Conditions to access EU budget
• “We are being forced in the sinking ship of the Euro Titanic, without our consent. Our legitimate referendum was suppressed and the accession process has been a farce, with falsified fiscal reports, a blind commission, inconsistent conclusions and the convergence report and the EU Parliament's supervisory role conveniently delegated back to Bulgaria's ruling party, Gerb. This version of democracy is a complete joke, because checks and balances have been turned into a closed loop without any citizen involvement. We Bulgarians are being dragged into this dangerously dystopian project of a digital euro and a digital identity without our consent. The EU and our so-called leadership elites prefer to govern by force, then allow for democratic citizen And participation in a referendum on the accession of Bulgaria with the programmability of the digital Euro. Central banks will be able to precisely manage the money supply. This is a dream for them because they can expand the money supply and they can extract value from the population through forced payments and taxes under various key EU priority policy areas such as climate, sun, gender, you name it, even universal basic income will no longer be unconditional. And yes, money can now also come with an expiry date. This allows wealth to be redistributed even faster without causing excessive inflation. And to those who say that my digital dystopia is just a paranoid fantasy because it's not officially written down anywhere, I say, of course it's not written down, but the technical capabilities are already put in place and so are the incentives for the key actors to use them.”
  Digital euro
• “Thank you, Mr. President. Today we're discussing the taxation of large digital platforms. But actually, no one in this chamber addressed the elephant in the room. And it is. Why does the EU so desperately need new fiscal resources? The answer is very simple. The common next generation EU debt. Yes, this is in fact forbidden by the treaties, and Brussels assumed that low interest rates would go on forever, which was wrong. Now 15 up to 20% of the annual EU budget will be consumed just to pay interest, not to pay back the debt, but every single year, only to refinance it again and again. This means the EU is building a second household that exists only to serve big investors. Here we are not discussing fairness or innovation. But addressing this trap, this debt trap imposed on today's and tomorrow's Europeans, the next generation EU is in fact the debt of the next generation.”
  Own EU resources
• “Thank you, Madam Chair. Commissioner. Commissioner Dombrovskis. Dear colleagues. Uh, this fund is often praised as a huge success, but in reality, the results are very difficult to measure. And more often than not, they are claimed without any valid proof. So, as it has already been stated, we have to look at the consequences of this common debt because large amounts of the money remain unused. And at the same time, the EU faces massive interest payments on the next generation EU debt, which will amount up to 20% of the EU's annual budget. So my question is why has the Commission not taken any steps or argued for using the unused RF funds to help repay next generation EU debt and reduce this growing interest, especially given that both the European Parliament and the European Court of Auditors have issued highly critical assessments of the Recovery and Resilience Facility, and in this way it seems that the Commission deliberately encourages the long term EU debt because we hear constant calls for new own resources, which in practice would serve to cover rising interest payments and in the end expand the EU budget. So this will create a payment system where money is funneled from taxpayers, finally, to investors holding EU bonds. So why is the Commission willing to accept this level of permanent debt and permanent outflow of EU funds to financial investors?”
  Own EU resources
• “Thank you president. We should focus on the truth about the current economic and fiscal state of the European Union. Our economic growth is ridiculous. We do not adhere to the Maastricht criteria. We manipulate budget data. This makes such reports pointless because the European Parliament ignores its own recommendations and reports. You pointed out the data about the manipulated budget report about Bulgaria, and you turned a blind eye to that. This was a blatant case. There were video records showing the Bulgarian Prime Minister Claiming that all data could be manipulated, and the European Parliament turned a blind eye to that. Uh, and you, uh, allowed for the rapporteur to be a representative of the party in Bulgaria whose sole aim was for Bulgaria to join the euro zone. Zone. This is European democracy in inaction. And the next budget for 2026 was manipulated again. The commission didn't even start, um, a budget imbalance procedure. This shows that these reports are only meant to, um uh. To deceive.”
  EU Supervision of the Rule of Law
• “Thank you, Madam Chair. So, Madam Koltsova. Several EU member states are currently planning significant increases in public spending, particularly under the label of defence investment. So these initiatives, we see them in the context of concerns about EU competitiveness and unresolved questions around the repayment of instruments such as next generation, EU and the RF. So from a statistical and empirical perspective, could you share what historical evidence suggests about the relationship between large scale debt increase and sovereign bond interest rates? And what does this data indicate regarding the impacts of central bank asset purchasing programs on price stability in the euro area? And last but not least, you spoke about price statistics and housing, which was developed in the debate and price statistics leads us to the questions of real purchasing power. So based on Eurostat's long term data, if we would take citizens real purchasing power and the cost of living of the people in the EU, if we take this as the prime concern, what would your policy suggestions be on these huge debts? Thank you.”
  EU fiscal rules and oversight of national budgets
• “Thank you president. We should focus on the truth about the current economic and fiscal state of the European Union. Our economic growth is ridiculous. We do not adhere to the Maastricht criteria. We manipulate budget data. This makes such reports pointless because the European Parliament ignores its own recommendations and reports. You pointed out the data about the manipulated budget report about Bulgaria, and you turned a blind eye to that. This was a blatant case. There were video records showing the Bulgarian Prime Minister Claiming that all data could be manipulated, and the European Parliament turned a blind eye to that. Uh, and you, uh, allowed for the rapporteur to be a representative of the party in Bulgaria whose sole aim was for Bulgaria to join the euro zone. Zone. This is European democracy in inaction. And the next budget for 2026 was manipulated again. The commission didn't even start, um, a budget imbalance procedure. This shows that these reports are only meant to, um uh. To deceive.”
  Accounting and auditing of EU budget
• “Thank you, Madam Chair. Um, madam, my question to you is regarding the countries that are included in the high risk third country list. According to the Financial Action Task Force, Russia was assessed in 2019 um as improving trajectory regarding international standards on anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing and since 2023, the evaluation experience a very sudden and drastic downturn. And I assume the current assessments are fully correct. And Russia is on a high risk third country list purely for objective reasons and not for geopolitical consequences or for restricting business between the EU and Russia. And if we apply the same logic and consistency, then we must also look at Ukraine, because every week, even in strongly pro-Ukrainian media, we see extensive reports of money laundering, corruption, illicit financial flows and systematic diversion of funds in Ukraine. So these issues are not, um, an episode and they are persistent and structural, and several EU treaties and assistance mechanisms explicitly obligate Ukraine to enter to not interfere with EU bound gas flows. And yet we witnessed actions that severed these flows to EU member states. And some Western governments themselves have described this as a serious, hostile act against crucial economic infrastructure because it caused substantial financial harm to EU countries, EU citizens and EU industry. So given these facts, my question is why is Ukraine not being considered or discussed for inclusion on the high risk third country list? Because if the list is based on objective criteria, then the severe and well-documented problems with corruption, money laundering in Ukraine and breaches affecting EU economic security should at least have examination and debate. And if we want to protect credibility as the European Union and European Parliament, we must apply standards consistently and not selectively. So therefore is, um. Thank you. Is there any reasons that you can explain as Amla? Clearly. Why is Ukraine?”
  Russia-Ukraine conflict (10th term)
• “Thank you, Madam President. Colleagues. Today we are discussing the affordable housing in the EU, but many European cities. Experience exorbitant prices of 8 or €9000 per square meter. This is totally prohibitive for young people. They they will have to pay their mortgage until the end of their lives. And the blame is to be put on the European Union and the European Central Bank. The European Central Bank brought about inflation and money printing, and the new money reached those who were the big market players. In my own country, Bulgaria, there is the danger of speculation on the housing market, and the result may be that young people will leave their country because of Brussels. Thank you.”
  ECB monetary policy
• “Thank you madam chair. I will again speak in Bulgarian. As far as I understand what you're saying is that Russian assets are not to be confiscated, they're to be mobilized. Let me give you an example. Imagine that I go to the bank and mobilize the furniture from my apartment as security for a loan but this furniture is not mine. Then I send it to Bulgaria because many citizens in Bulgaria are not happy with EU's policy right now so I can help them but under the condition that they can repay this money only if they win the lottery. Any bank would say that this is unlawful and illegal because you cannot pledge property you don't own, you cannot mobilize something you don't own. And your plan as I see it is trying to use as collateral assets that do not belong to the EU. So I'd like to ask you what's the difference between this hypothetical plan I proposed and your plan? Thank you.”
  EU-Russia relations (from March 2022)
• “Thank you, Mr. President. Dear colleagues, today we are discussing the very nature of money. The proposal to introduce the digital euro is framed as the inevitable next step in our digital evolution. But we must ask. At what cost does this come? Whether technology becomes a blessing or a curse depends both on those in power and the rationality of the population. Because any rational citizen recognizes the immense danger of the combination of the digital euro and the digital ID, and naturally rejects them. These two developments, digital currency and digital identity, are advanced separately, but when you combine them, it's like putting a match to gasoline. The programmability and limited ability of the digital euro, combined with the reduction of your financial life to a single account tied to a unified, all purpose digital identity, is the dystopian dream of control obsessed technocrats. The possibilities for authoritarian control are staggering. And what limited personal freedom still exists in our current system is due to anonymity and cash. And you must know that the digital euro is not just a fancy gadget, but it is a completely new monetary system. When combined with the digital ID, it exponentially increases the possibility to control individuals. Programmability. Usage limits would allow authorities to reward or punish behavior of citizens. And just imagine what this could mean when tied to systems like social credit scores or smart 15 minute cities. If you reduce to one identity and one account, you have no way to opt out. And speaking of coercion, for us Bulgarians, this entire situation is a double insult.”
  Digital euro
• “Thank you president. Free market, it was created to help trade but now Brussels is using it to force Bulgaria to top the euro. With your economic policy you brought France on the brink of bankruptcy, Germany recession, Italy stagnation. You couldn't get it that Europe is not just a single state, it's a single continent composed of sovereign nations with different financial and economic models. And this is where the strength of Europe lies. It's diversity. It's not unification that European Commission is striving for. Our differences are not a weakness, they are a source of energy, competition, creativity. But when you try to make everything the same you destroy the driver of sovereign nations. Instead of a free market you create a system where each successive crisis results in more centralization, new regulations, less freedom. Europe should not become a copy of the US or China. It has to be an area of free independent states that cooperate through trades, not through submission. We joined you in 2007 not to replace the hierarchical system of the Soviet Union with a hierarchical system of commands of the EU. We will not accept a new level of control that hides behind words like integration and stability. We will continue to protect not only our own currency, the Bulgarian lev, but also the right of each nation in Europe to forge its own destiny.”
  EU Single Market harmonisation
• “Thank you, Madam President. Dear colleagues and dear European taxpayers. The Recovery and Resilience Fund is nothing more than a covert budget bailout of some Member States on the basis of massive EU level debt under the next generation EU programme. This absurd financing model is devoid of any cost analysis, and the allocation of the funds is non-transparent and inconsistent. We have complex procedures to obtain the funds that only serve to obscure this reality, and in some countries, national budget items have been largely replaced by their RF. But what is even more scandalous is that the RF is used as a political tool to impose EU plans to save, to save the world climate in my country, Bulgaria, shutting down essential coal fired power plants was a condition to receive the funds from their RF. Yet the most serious concern here is the transformation of the EU into a debt and fiscal union under the pretext of a crisis. The rules that prohibit common debt are bypassed as a result, starting in 2028. Interest payments alone will consume 15 to 20% of the EU's annual budget. If more debt is added, for example, due to so-called Russian pandemic, this burden will only grow, especially since there is no cap in place. The EU is not pursuing repayment plans and is not using leftover funds to reduce the debt. Instead, there is new EU credit cards invented, more borrowing or worse, new EU level taxes just to service the interest. This is not only unsustainable, but it is legally questionable. The current path benefits financial institutions and shifts the costs to EU citizens and future generations. This is not resilient recovery. This is a debt trap for Europe.”
  EU fiscal rules and oversight of national budgets
• “Thank you, Madam President. I want to raise awareness with the issues I have with this report. First, the EU itself is among the prime reasons for the defects of competitiveness in the EU, and its regulation and energy policy are a complete mess. That's what's intentionally ignored by the Draghi report. In order to demand even more EU for problems which were created by too much EU. Second, the report on On the competition policy addresses market concentration problems. If you think market giants are powerful before, look at what they can do now and still no one is watching. Neither the DG competition nor the national competition authorities in the 90s. The EU aggressively targeted Microsoft. Today, Microsoft practically runs our work lives and controls not only operating systems, but productivity software and also AI tools we use in everyday tasks. Why do you think AI is so good at writing standard letters? If AI knows how we speak, write, and act, and no one intervenes? Maybe it is intended that way. Where is the scrutiny here?”
  EU Competition policy
• “Thank you madam. One nation, one market, one European Union. The title of this discussion is The Dream of any globalist. One European market under one condition. But we can no longer listen to this endless propaganda because 30 years already we're getting promises about this grand ambition, but they require more, uh, subservience from the nations, uh, states. But let's name three projects that have actually achieved the goals, the results promised by the European Union. Those activities have only brought a downfall. And no propaganda from the Berlaymont can hide behind this, that there is no, um, no nations and states behind this idea. There's only Ursula's in behind these ideas. And there is something else. This type of European Union will find its end soon.”
  EU political integration