The Vice President of the European Commission and Commissioner for Budget and Human Resources Kristalina Georgieva said that the split-up of the EU and the United Kingdom would be painful but that it is vital to keep calm while Europe should carry out an analysis of its state of affairs. "The split-up will be painful for all of us, and most painful for Britain’s young who voted Remain, and now shall have to live with the consequences of this decision”, Georgieva said in an interview for the Bulgarian National Television. “It is important to work with composure in the coming days, weeks and months for the sake of being stronger”, the EU commissioner said. According to her the European Union should carry out the decision of British citizens no matter how hard this could be.

Talking to the press in Brussels Commissioner Georgieva took a question from the Bulgarian National Radio correspondent about possible risks for the EU budget. She explained that in the coming two years Great Britain’s contribution into the EU budget would remain unchanged.

Kristalina Georgieva also pointed to an existential issue that the EU is faced with: is it going to be a bloc in who those who need tighter integration could have it, and those who do need further integration would be able to remain and function within the bloc. She said the Union ought to have an answer to this question.

As to Bulgaria in the light of latest EU developments, Commissioner Kristalina Georgieva said: “Ours is a small country with an open economy and for the time being with lower incomes than the EU average. We have strong benefits from EU membership.”