The United Kingdom officially left the European Union at midnight on January 31 (Central European Time). This is how the number of EU Member States has become 27. Before that, the EU and the UK held intense negotiations on exit conditions and probable legal issues that could emerge after EU law ceased to apply to the UK.

Brexit has caused various reactions among Bulgarians and raised a big number of questions. Bulgarian National Radio correspondent in Brussels, Angelina Piskova, recalls that the unity of the Member States is what European Commission's chief negotiator with the United Kingdom over leaving the European Union, Michel Barnier, pointed out almost constantly during the difficult negotiations with the UK. And obviously this trend would continue. Bulgarian MEPs also share this expectation.

Andrey Kovatchev of the European People's Party has commented that just like all Member States Bulgaria should need a common strategy for relations with the United Kingdom and pointed out areas such as security, defense and a comprehensive trade agreement.

“We all have an interest in continuing partnership with the United Kingdom unchanged,” says Kovatchev's colleague Radan Kanev. According to him, it was very important to preserve trade turnover, British investments and Bulgarian exports to the UK market, as well as to guarantee the rights of Bulgarians, working and studying in the United Kingdom.

Sergey Stanishev of the group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats believes that from now on scenarios of the type of social dumping should be avoided at all costs. According to him, it was through social dumping that "right-wing officials in the UK are likely to attempt to undermine the European welfare state." Speaking about the challenges facing Bulgaria, Stanishev focused on Bulgarians currently living on the island: “Yes, many of them already have official status, but I am sure a huge number are caught somewhere in between. And here is the job of institutions and the government to help them as much as possible and without difficulties."

"Bulgarian citizens are what we care about the most," says MEP Ilhan Kyuchyuk of the Renew Europe group of ALDE Party and adds that 250,000 Bulgarian citizens live in the UK, according to unofficial information. "If Europe wanted to play a significant foreign policy role and have the support of its citizens, it is impossible to continue with the policy of double standards," Kyuchyuk says, adding: "Europe must understand that its future is linked with serious reforms. Without reforms, we cannot move forward!"

Andrey Slabakov of the European Conservatives and Reformists Group, who is the only one of his Bulgarian colleagues who voted against the Brexit Agreement, said that with Britain exiting the EU an imbalance in Europe would be caused. "France would start having more influence and creating more and more problems. So far, France has not been working for the common EU goals, but for itself. And this has had negative effects on many countries." According to Slabakov, the only positive consequence of Brexit would be that it would cause "some stress to the EU and it may start paying more attention to the way the rest of the EU Member States are treated."

Radio Bulgaria, Angelina Piskova