24/06/2025 | 17:07:22 Thank you, Mr Chair. Dear colleagues, as a member of this Assembly, I firmly support the two draft resolutions before us on the legal and human rights aspects of the Russian Federation’s aggression against Ukraine, and on political negotiations to secure the release of Ukrainian prisoners of war. I would like to congratulate all our rapporteurs for their excellent work. These issues are deeply interconnected. Over a year ago, the journalist Ms Viktoriia ROSHCHYNA was abducted in Russian... 09/04/2025 | 20:10:04 (Undelivered speech, Rules of Procedure Art. 31.2) Dear Madam Chair, Ladies and Gentlemen, Today, we are discussing how to ensure that the values of the European Convention on Human Rights are not just ideals on paper but real safeguards in our lives. This means guarenting justice even when it involves powerful actors—like investigating a murder thoroughly, even if the suspect is a state official; protecting citizens’ property from unfair confiscation; or preventing the misuse of... 09/04/2025 | 18:07:06 Thank you, Mister President. Dear colleagues, It is, indeed, more than 11 years since Russia invaded Ukraine. It is more than three years since the Russian Federation launched its full-scale, brutal and unprovoked war of aggression against Ukraine. A war that constitutes a flagrant violation of international law and assault on the very principles that bind us as a European Community – sovereignty, territorial integrity, democracy and the rule of law. The report is not only timely, it is... 08/04/2025 | 11:15:58 Thank you, Madam Chair. Esteemed colleagues, American historian Ms Anne APPLEBAUM once said that liberal societies can be destroyed not just from the outside, but from within, unless we choose to protect them. That warning rings true today. Our democracy is threatened. Autocratic influence is trying very hard to seep in. Since Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014, the international order has been under growing pressure. And even more so after the start of the full-scale Russian war of... 30/01/2025 | 12:59:30 (Undelivered speech, Rules of Procedure Art. 31.2) Dear Mister President, Dear colleagues, Let me start with a story. It was 1 February 1945 when the so-called People’s Court was set up in Bulgaria by the Soviet-installed authorities. Thousands were convicted, including 2 730 sentenced to death and thousands of imprisonments. Very few attorneys had the courage to follow their professional duty and represent the accused before that politically-motivated Court. They served with honour, but... 29/01/2025 | 13:04:45 (Undelivered speech, Rules of Procedure Art. 31.2) Dear Madam Chair, distinguished colleagues, I will vote for the draft resolution. It is very true that quality history education is particularly important for understanding the conflicting nuances of the past and the complexities of the present. History of each and every one of our countries unfortunately has such events. In two days, my country Bulgaria marks the Day of Appreciation and Tribute to the Victims of the Communist Regime... 27/01/2025 | 17:35:23 Undelivered speech, Rules of Procedure Art. 31.2 Honourable chair, distinguished colleagues, As a representative of one of the countries engaged in a post-monitoring dialogue, I will support the resolution on Progress of the Assembly’s monitoring procedure (January – December 2024) and welcome the Assembly’s commitment to assist us in fulfilling our membership obligations. In regards to the latest developments in Bulgaria, just 10 days ago the Bulgarian parliament elected the 3rd regular... 03/10/2024 | 10:54:37 Thank you, Mister Chair, Dear colleagues, Holodomor means hunger meant to inflict that. These are the semantics of our universally recognised historical term. The very name of the massive starvation cries out that the famine was intentionally brought upon its victims. The Holodomor in the 1930s was methodically planned and executed by the Soviet regime. As Ukrainian farmers were starving to death, the authorities confiscated more than four million tons of grain, an amount which would have... 01/10/2024 | 13:03:05 (Undelivered speech, Rules of Procedure Art. 31.2) Dear Mr Chair, Dear Colleagues, I will support the resolution, with an emphasis on elaborating a counter-propaganda approach without chaining freedom of expression and freedom of information. Fighting harmful propaganda in a balanced, yet decisive manner, is both an universal challenge and a common responsibility for our Member States. The digital age of lightning fast spread of information will be replaced by a future where lights could be... 26/06/2024 | 11:20:57 Thank you, Mister Chair. Dear colleagues, First of all, I would like to congratulate all our three rapporteurs for their excellent work. I will focus on the issue of sanctions in my short intervention. First, allow me to disagree with the fact that the sanctions don't work. Yes, they're not the most effective tool to end this horrible war. But we need them because, for the moment, they're the only effective peaceful tool at our disposal. That's why I think that we should unite the effort of...