Speaker: Manfred WEBER (Germany — Christlich-Soziale Union in Bayern e.V.)
Political group: Group of the European People's Party (Christian Democrats)
Date: 2022-09-14
Debate: Illegal detention of the opposition leader in Bulgaria (topical debate)

  Manfred Weber,  author. – Mr President, on the night of 17 March 2022, Boyko Borisov, the leader of the Bulgarian opposition party GERB, a member of the EPP family, was detained for a whole day by the Bulgarian police. Without a former judge, without a prosecutor involved and without any legal basis. You have to name this act for what it really was: it was an illegal breach of the fundamental principle of the rule of law in Bulgaria and in the European Union. It was an arbitrary order from the Interior Minister, a member of the government, who arrested the opposition leader, and he even invited himself the media to witness the arrest as a propaganda action. They know the facts. 
We are worried about the rule of law situation in Bulgaria. These very serious concerns are based on objective and thorough legal assessments. Two courts condemned the government action, the last one just three weeks ago. Both courts ruled that the detention was illegal. We strongly condemn this unlawful act. And I have to say, we stand behind Boyko Borisov. His illegal arresting violates our fundamental democratic standards and cannot be tolerated, not in Bulgaria and in any EU Member State. 
And despite this clear violation of the rule of law, the left in this House, and that is obvious also now when I look into the ranks of this House, is silent and refuses to debate. And let me be clear. You know… Where is Sophie in 't Veld? Where is she? You have so much action every time and I'm ready to answer all questions. But where is Sophie in 't Veld? Where are the left? Where are the Greens? Where are all these people who are everyday insisting rightfully to respect the rule of law? 
And we speak again about the judgment of two court cases, the outcome of two independent court cases. That is the reality in Bulgaria. As the EPP Group, we are fighting for an EU where every citizen enjoys these fundamental rights and where the rule of law is fully respected. That is our EPP thinking. This is not negotiable for us and we are fighting for the rule of law in Europe. Today more than ever, the EPP, not the Socialists and others, is the rule of law party of Europe. I refer to Poland, where Donald Tusk is in the lead to fight against rule of law breaches from the PiS government. Romania, in the border for example, when we defended our border towards the Belarusian attacks, it was the EPP government in Lithuania and Latvia who opened all Frontex officers and the media, the access to the border, not Poland. So we are doing our best to respect the rule of law all over Europe. We carry the flag of democracy, independent judiciary, freedom and rule of law in our hands, and we fight for the rule of law by true actions. 
After the detention of Boyko Borisov, we sent an urgent fact-finding mission to Sofia. My dear colleagues Monika Hohlmeier and Jeroen Lenaers met with Boyko Borisov and the involved parties, including the Bulgarian Prime Minister Kiril Petkov, the Minister of the Interior and the Prosecutor-General. The recommendation was clear. We call for appropriate measures to guarantee the respect of democratic values and the rule of law in Bulgaria. This illegal act cannot remain unanswered. When it comes to democracy in Europe, you can't have a blind eye on Bulgaria. We need the rule of law also there.