/ world today news/ The appearances on the international stage of Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov as our EU presidency draws nearer are arousing more and more interest among the foreign media as well. On Friday in Brussels, Borissov, who participated in the Fifth EU Eastern Partnership meeting, decided to share with reporters his views on a number of important topics – after making a brief overview of the situation in Azerbaijan, Georgia, etc., he proceeded to draw up to the German government and reported that he hugged “Angela to give her courage”. He also gave his competent opinion on what is happening with the Brexit negotiations.
Here’s how James Crisp in the Daily Telegraph sees Friday’s appearance by the country’s prime minister, the incoming EU rotating chair, during whose presidency many of the tough Brexit negotiations will take place:
Britain and the European Union face a hard Brexit, Bulgaria’s prime minister said in Brussels, before warning that the EU was not ready for a bitter divorce from the United Kingdom.
Boyko Borisov publicly expressed an opinion different from that of the other 27 member states, admitting that the EU cannot afford a sharp separation with Great Britain.
“Unfortunately, the possibility that there will be no agreement is being mentioned more and more often. I am not saying this on behalf of the EU or our presidency, and I do not want to be misunderstood. But this is my feeling,” quoted Borisov as “Daily Telegraph” .
The EU maintained a carefully constructed facade of unity in the face of Brexit. Borisov’s outspokenness is particularly disturbing because Bulgaria will soon take over the EU’s rotating presidency, which means it will preside over Brexit discussions among 27 EU countries from January 1, the publication reminds.
Speaking ahead of a meeting in Brussels where Theresa May met with European Council President Donald Tusk on Brexit talks, Mr Borissov said: “If I say we are ready (for the EU presidency under Brexit), it will mean , that we are overestimating ourselves. If you ask any prime minister or chancellor here, they will tell you they are not ready.”
The portly prime minister, a former bodyguard of Bulgaria’s last communist leader, added: “Yes, we will have a lot going on: the Eastern Partnership, the Western Balkans, Brexit, the next long-term EU budget, European security and defence, cyber security. Many topics.”
Mr Borissov admitted the EU was struggling to act as Germany tried to form a coalition government.
“As long as Germany is blocked by such talks, nothing can function normally,” said Borisov, who has a black belt in martial arts and once coached Bulgaria’s national karate team.
(Here comes another reminder of who the Bulgarian prime minister is – apart from being a former bodyguard of the last communist dictator and a black belt holder, he is the man who almost suffocated former British prime minister David Cameron.)
Mr Borissov, who once hugged David Cameron so tightly the prime minister joked he thought he was going to die, said he hoped the good ties between Britain and the EU would survive Brexit talks.
“I believe that Michel Barnier, an outstanding diplomat, will be able to fulfill his task,” he added.
Mr Borissov, who sometimes plays for a second-division football team, has previously suggested that some of the Western Balkan countries could become part of the EU after the UK leaves.
For Bulgaria, there will be a reduction in the funds it receives from the EU, because the British will no longer pay their contribution to the budget of the union after Brexit, the author concludes with a significant reminder.
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