"Not only is Bulgaria continuing to fight for Volkswagen to build its next plant in our country, but we also have our chances of this happening. We have found ways to optimize our bid. Meetings between representatives of the automotive cluster and the Ministry of Economy continue. In a very short time Bulgaria will provide an even better offer, " Rosen Plevneliev said about the competition between Bulgaria and Turkey for the new Volkswagen plant.

"We will continue to fight with all legal methods, telling Volkswagen that we are proud to be members of the EU and NATO and we are this EU and NATO country that provides them with the best conditions,"  Plevneliev in an interview for Nova TV.

According to him, everyone in the Balkans is watching very closely what will happen. "If Volkswagen choose Turkey, it will send an extremely bad signal to all democratically minded people in the Balkans," he said.

"I strongly disagree with the Prime Minister of Lower Saxony that because there are many democratically minded people, precisely in Turkey, a Volkswagen investment there, would support them," said Rosen Plevneliev.

"The truth is, we're on the final line. The truth is, there is no solution yet. Until one of the two countries signs a contract with Volkswagen, each of the two countries continues to participate in the race. Such a concern like Volkswagen will not allow only one participant to remain on the final line, who at one point may not keep his promises and twist their hands, "Plevneliev was adamant.

"The choice between the two countries looks like this - on the one hand, we have an EU and NATO Member State that has more cost-effective production costs and is much more predictable. On the other hand, we have Turkey with all its problems. The election of Volkswagen sends a very strong signal to the democratic communities in the region, ”he said.

According to him, if Bulgaria is elected, it greatly strengthens the position of both the EU and Germany in the Balkans. "If Turkey is elected, we lose the illusion that everything is a matter of human rights and freedoms, but in fact it is a matter of money, and there the dictator promised more money," Plevneliev added.

Regarding the hacking attack against the NRA, he commented: “Attacks like this one against the NRA create problems for the business environment in our country. Such a breakthrough can also be linked to a political request and to certain scenarios for blackmailing the state or business. Therefore, such things should no longer happen. There should definitely be convicts in this case.''