Radio Free Europe
Interview with Former Bulgarian Foreign Minister Nadezhda Mihaylova on the declaration, signed in Laeken, according to which Bulgaria and Romania will not join EU with the first wave of candidate states.
The big efforts of your Cabinet aimed at Bulgaria not to be considered in a package with Romania. You achieved that goal in 1999. From the other day, Bulgaria’s chances for EU membership are lined up again with those of Romania. Can you define that as considerable retreat in the foreign policy of the country?
I am surprised by the fact that what happened was assessed as more positive than anyone has expected. Since, you are right, what our county and the Government of the Union of Democratic Forces Cabinet aimed at was a result from the Copenhagen decisions - each country to be assessed individually according to its economic achievements. Moreover, in the world and Europe miracles no longer take place. In the world and in Europe happens what a person deserves. Bulgaria started the negotiation with EU later but what bothers are the signals with different meaning made by the current Government on the Euro integration issue and these were obviously not well accepted as positive by the EU. One usually gets encouraging words as a compensation for not having received what one has been striving to. There are a couple of things that bother me and I have to say what they are:
The first message that came from Bulgaria was for dividing the membership in political and economic – a fact that was accepted with big amazement in the EU since there is only one kind of membership, being full membership after having performed all necessary criteria. Also a signal emerged that Bulgaria is to cover the criteria in much earlier terms than the ones that were set, which sounds patriotic but is it realistic? There is nothing sadder than to talk about unachievable goals and to live through the tragedy for the things that we haven’t achieved. In order that the goals are achieved, they have to be secured with specific work.
The schedule of your Government, if I am not wrong, envisaged possible membership with EU in 2006. In that line of thinking, the Laeken declaration seems to contradict this plan?
Of course, the declaration is not a surprise in general. Since we have said that by 2004 we are ready to close all chapters and after the ratification procedure in the end of 2006, Bulgaria to become EU member. In that sense, the declaration does not surprise us. We are surprised, though, by what is listed in the declaration for Bulgaria and Romania, because what is written for the two countries is an assessment of the chances. The Government had to prepare a clear program how to catch up the delay, as well as concrete figures in order to prepare EU for the earlier terms. I myself was in Brussels few days ago and officials there smiled at the idea for earlier accession of Bulgaria to EU, which was rather hurting for me as a Bulgaria. A statement of the sort can be serious only in case that it is backed by a program with clear terms and very clear politics. That is the reason why the Union of Democratic Forces demanded a debate in the Bulgarian Parliament, you know that the debate was postponed a couple of times.
Can you define the personality from the current Government, which personifies the foreign politics of the country. The decision in Laeken was commented by the Chief of the Prime Minister’s Cabinet not by the Bulgarian Foreign Minister?
Please, do not ask me that since I think that what happens is clear enough to everyone. Not only that the messages are different but also different people make these messages. For me the fact that the Foreign Minister did not attend the meeting in Laeken was rather surprising. I myself, being Foreign Minister have participated in such high-rank meetings at which decisions, related to EU, were taken. Maybe the New Time has new rules. I cannot comment on these. Probably that is not the most important is work used to be done. For me, the news from Laeken is very worrying especially since the change of priorities either shows unserious attitude towards EU or lack of understanding what it is all about. The European Union is the instrument for achievement of the priorities such as solving the poverty problem, fighting corruption and all other things that the Bulgarians want to see in their country, can be solved via the EU mechanisms. That is why the European Union cannot be changed as priority.
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