The President of the European People’s Party (EPP), Joseph Daul, has congratulated the Prime Minister Boyko Borissov upon the conclusion of the Bulgarian Presidency of the Council of the European Union (EU). “On 1 January 2018, a decade after its accession to the EU, Bulgaria took over the rotating Presidency of the Council of the EU for the first time. Under the theme of security, stability and solidarity, Bulgaria worked to secure the future of European citizens and prepare the continent for tomorrow’s challenges. The EU Bulgarian Presidency achieved concrete results to improve the lives of European citizens. By ending geo-blocking the Bulgarian Presidency has made the digital single market work for the European people.  European citizens now all have access to the same products and services at the same prices using the same payment conditions.  Bulgaria has also led the way in helping young Europeans. Students can now move easily across the EU with the student e-card and Europe-wide education and training opportunities have been guaranteed due to the Presidency’s work on the Erasmus+ programme. The Western Balkans summit was also a milestone for EU-Western Balkans relations and the future of the entire region. By gathering European leaders in in Sofia, the Bulgarian Presidency sent a message of unequivocal support for a credible enlargement and European accession perspective of our Western Balkans partners. The Sofia Declaration successfully achieved the Bulgarian Presidency’s objective to outline feasible steps to EU membership for each of the countries. I wish congratulate Bulgaria for their numerous achievements at the service of the European citizens during the Bulgarian Presidency of the Council of the European Union and I look forward to continue working with Prime Minister Borissov. Note to editors: The EPP is the largest and most influential European-level political party of the centre-right, which currently includes 77 member parties and partners from 41 countries, the Presidents of the European Commission, the European Council and the European Parliament, 8 EU and 5 non-EU heads of state and government, 13 members of the European Commission and the largest Group in the European Parliament. For more information: Siegfried Muresan, EPP Spokesperson, Tel. +32 22854147