The European Union is expected to open its borders in the coming 15 days, announced Bulgarian Minister of Exterior Ekaterina Zaharieva in an interview for the national television „BNT“. She highlighted that as of Monday people from 29 countries are admitted to enter Bulgaria without restrictions. Travelers from 8 countries with high infection rates, however, remain subject to self-quarantine.
She stressed that even European countries that have imposed less strict restriction measures have been impacted by the virus due to the economic interconnectivity of the block.
As of the European economic recovery plan, she said €500 billion will be provided in the form of grants and further €250 billion will be directly infused in the economy. Bulgaria is expected to receive €15 billion, €3,3 billion of which will have to be reimbursed over the period of 30 years. Each member state will be required to provide the European Commission with a plan for the redistribution of the funds. Zaharieva vowed that the Bulgarian recovery strategy will be created in joint efforts with the local business.
According to the Exterior Minister, strengthening the healthcare systems remains strictly a national matter but cooperation remains of utter importance, especially for the development of COVID vaccine and treatment.
She said that key European manufacturing processes have been exported to third countries, incl. 80% of the pharmaceutical industry, and she believes that they should be reestablished in the European Union in order to speed up the economic recovery and to improve the autonomy of the block.
In regards to the anti-Bulgarian political discussions in North Macedonia, Zaharieva said they are most likely a result of the upcoming elections. She criticized the highly nationalistic moods in the neighboring country finding it them be rather harmful and expressed regrets that the commission that was supposed to sort out the historical arguments has been dismissed due to the upcoming elections.
