The Presidency of the EPP at its meeting on 8 December 2003 discussed the results of the local elections in Bulgaria and issued the following statement:

"The final results of the local elections in Bulgaria confirmed that the center-right in Bulgaria is firmly on track for its revival after the loss of the parliamentary elections in 2001. The socialists were not able to make expected key gains, while what seems most clear is the heavy defeat of the governing National Movement Simeon II. Their result is much worse than one might have expected in a mid-term election.

It gives us hope that the UDF has confirmed its position as the leader of the centre-right in Bulgaria and shall grow again to be the main political force in the country.

This will become possible by the continued pursuit of the policy of opening up and dialogue that has been initiated by the UDF.

The Presidency welcomes the efforts of the EPP sister parties in Bulgaria to consolidate the centre-right under the leadership of the Union of Democratic Forces and on the basis of clearly defined principles of accountability, transparency and dialogue.

The Presidency supports the initiative of the UDF to include civil society in the debate on its policy platform for the next election.

These efforts are the first steps in a process that will allow our sister parties to form a government after the next parliamentary elections.

We are convinced that Bulgaria will conclude its EU membership negotiations by 2004 and will become a full member of the Union in 2007. This means that the European elections will take place in Bulgaria in 2009 and it is important for the EPP sister parties to have considerable representation in the European Parliament."