Bulgaria was entering the EU with the ambition to make the union stronger, instead of to be just a consumer, President Georgi Purvanov said during the official hoisting of the Bulgarian and EU flags in front of the Unknown Soldier Monument in Sofia.

The country’s stable macroeconomic indices and capability to provide with security such a ‘difficult’ region as the Balkans would make EU stronger, Purvanov said as quoted by Focus news agency.

Bulgarians were aware that EU membership was not a one-time act, but a process which would last for years and would demand additional efforts.

Purvanov also said that Bulgaria wanted to play an ‘active role’ in EU institutions. The country’s ambition was to defend its national interest and identity, but it was also ready to make sacrifices for EU’s common interests, he said.

Bulgaria would be a ‘stable and predictable’ EU member, he said.

The country earned its EU membership because it was keeping strictly all engagements related to the EU, Purvanov said.