Kristian Vigenin on 9 May: Let us keep the memory of the horrors of war, let us value and maintain peace

„Let us keep the memory of the horrors of war, let us value and maintain peace, let us build prosperity for our children together! We mark this day in memory of the millions who lost their lives during the Second World War and with gratitude to the soldiers of the Soviet Army and of the other allied armies who broke Nazism in Berlin.“ This was said by the head of the Delegation of the Bulgarian Socialists Kristian Vigenin, who took part in the ceremonial events on the occasion of Europe Day and the Day of Victory over Fascism, 9 May, held in Sofia.

He noted that today we bow before the soldiers of the Bulgarian Army, who with their heroism contributed to the faster end of the war, especially with the Drava operation, which stopped the advance of the Nazi troops in Hungary.

„Today we pay tribute to the fathers of today’s European Union, whose vision has guaranteed peace and prosperity on the continent for 80 years now, but also to those leaders on both sides of the Iron Curtain who, at the height of the confrontation, did not allow the Cold War to grow into a Third and final world nuclear conflict“, Vigenin also said.

Together with MEP Tsvetelina Penkova, he laid a wreath and flowers at the Monument to the Unknown Soldier and at the Monument to the Soviet Army. Kristian Vigenin also took part in an official ceremony for the raising of the flags of Bulgaria and the European Union in front of the Presidency building. The ceremony was attended by President Rumen Radev, the Speaker of the National Assembly Natalia Kiselova, Vice President Iliana Iotova, the Bulgarian Patriarch and Metropolitan of Sofia Daniil, the Mayor of Sofia Vasil Terziev, political leaders, MEPs, representatives of religious communities and public figures.

The Day of the European Communities has been marked since 1986 in accordance with a decision of the European Community summit in Milan, Italy (28-29 June 1985). The day is the anniversary of the speech by the Foreign Minister of France Robert Schuman in Paris, in which he set out his plan for uniting the coal and steel industries of the Western European countries (the so-called Schuman Declaration) as “the first real step towards a European federation”. The Day of the European Communities is marked in Bulgaria in accordance with Decree 54 of the Council of Ministers of 29 March 2005.