How many Times were Diplomatic Relations between Russia and Bulgaria Severed
If we look at history, there are not many cases in which relations between Bulgaria and Russia at the state level were as bad as they are at the moment.
Bulgaria in EU - 3 Months and 10 Qs
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Photo by Yuliana Nikolova (Sofia Photo Agency)
As the EU celebrates the 50th birthday of the European project, we look at the pressing questions that nearly three months of full-fledged membership brought to Bulgaria and its people.
1. Sofia puts Brussels to its first test
Bulgarian politicians were quick to throw their full weight into making the HIV trial in Libya top of the agenda for the European Parliament, the European Council and the European Commission. The European Union member states have fully supported the Bulgarian actions to try to get the nurses released, yet all decisions taken so far have been nothing but recommendations. And it will be long before these efforts come into fruition.
2. MEPs candidates - relativity is everywhere
In Bulgaria, the efforts to further raise awareness of the travesty of justice in Libya by nominating the medics for MEPs stumbled, ironically, into nothing else but legislation. The letter of the law, however, is a dead letter for Zdravko and the five nurses. And rightfully so. It was not by their own free will that they spent years outside Bulgaria. It was not by their own free will that they spent years behind the bars of a jail in an African country - an absence that makes the state turn its back on the campaign and will probably make the medics turn their back on the state. Together with the electorate, who find the MEPs vote too dim and too complex to bother.
3. A charming Bulgarian lady enters EC, raises a few brows
Meglena Kuneva's strongest weapon for disarming opponents is charm and eloquency. Yet she learnt a tough lesson after ticking off technology buffs by taking a swipe at Apple's iPod - a faux pas, which will certainly teach her to watch her every step. Especially when talking to foreign journalists.
4. Another charming lady steps in as euro-affairs minister
Amid hot debates whether we need a euro-affairs minister at all, Gergana Grancharova will have to prove critics wrong. And roll up her sleeves to prepare the country for the Schengen area and the single currency zone.
5. Fireworks vs rallies
Sofia's crane-filled skyline and mushrooming malls reflect heady economic times. Booming Bulgaria may be, but that may not be enough for the people. It was not for nothing that protests swept the capital right after the fireworks of the January 1 celebrations died down. Pensioners, medics and taxi drivers took to the streets to demand clear rules and more money, of course. The odds are that their demands will not be met soon and the gap, wide open, between sceptic people and optimistic figures, rattled off by politicians, will grow even wider.
6. Why didn't you tell me about the licence?
The EU entry will prove to be good for Bulgaria in the long term. Yet for many Bulgarians - from fishermen to meat exporters - the entry is nothing but a bad thing. With no license, which, they say, nobody told them about, these people are bound to lose their job on the world's biggest internal market.
7. The day when the health system died
Accidentally or not, Bulgaria's accession to the European Union saw the country's health care system life support taken off. Interestingly, this did not plunge into mourning doctors and patients, but drew battlelines between them, each seeing the other as its archenemy. Which could make even more doctors and nurses seek better life on the open labour market.
8. Free travel to the paradise?
To the regret of foreign journalists, Bulgarians did not start invading Western Europe after every single person from its 8 million-strong population was given a way out of what is often perceived as one of Europe's poorest and most corrupt nations. Unfortunately for both sides, this can not be said of the Roma, who don't hide they are going West to steal. On the positive side, free travel worked its first miracle in warming ties between Bulgaria and Romania. Hundreds of Romanians are more than happy to cross the border with Bulgaria every weekend to do some shopping here - it's nice, cheaper and the people are firendly.
9. Paradise for second-hand cars
Bulgaria gained itself the reputation of second-hand cars paradise after its entrance into the EU and the lift of import taxes. Traffic jams and complaints about the environmental damage being wrought on Bulgaria are starting to gain speed. We have every reason to believe these concerns will be fuelled...
10. He who laughs last, laughs best
Most of these conclusions make eurosceptics very happy. Well, they simply forget that those who laughs last, laughs best.
1. Sofia puts Brussels to its first test
Bulgarian politicians were quick to throw their full weight into making the HIV trial in Libya top of the agenda for the European Parliament, the European Council and the European Commission. The European Union member states have fully supported the Bulgarian actions to try to get the nurses released, yet all decisions taken so far have been nothing but recommendations. And it will be long before these efforts come into fruition.
2. MEPs candidates - relativity is everywhere
In Bulgaria, the efforts to further raise awareness of the travesty of justice in Libya by nominating the medics for MEPs stumbled, ironically, into nothing else but legislation. The letter of the law, however, is a dead letter for Zdravko and the five nurses. And rightfully so. It was not by their own free will that they spent years outside Bulgaria. It was not by their own free will that they spent years behind the bars of a jail in an African country - an absence that makes the state turn its back on the campaign and will probably make the medics turn their back on the state. Together with the electorate, who find the MEPs vote too dim and too complex to bother.
3. A charming Bulgarian lady enters EC, raises a few brows
Meglena Kuneva's strongest weapon for disarming opponents is charm and eloquency. Yet she learnt a tough lesson after ticking off technology buffs by taking a swipe at Apple's iPod - a faux pas, which will certainly teach her to watch her every step. Especially when talking to foreign journalists.
4. Another charming lady steps in as euro-affairs minister
Amid hot debates whether we need a euro-affairs minister at all, Gergana Grancharova will have to prove critics wrong. And roll up her sleeves to prepare the country for the Schengen area and the single currency zone.
5. Fireworks vs rallies
Sofia's crane-filled skyline and mushrooming malls reflect heady economic times. Booming Bulgaria may be, but that may not be enough for the people. It was not for nothing that protests swept the capital right after the fireworks of the January 1 celebrations died down. Pensioners, medics and taxi drivers took to the streets to demand clear rules and more money, of course. The odds are that their demands will not be met soon and the gap, wide open, between sceptic people and optimistic figures, rattled off by politicians, will grow even wider.
6. Why didn't you tell me about the licence?
The EU entry will prove to be good for Bulgaria in the long term. Yet for many Bulgarians - from fishermen to meat exporters - the entry is nothing but a bad thing. With no license, which, they say, nobody told them about, these people are bound to lose their job on the world's biggest internal market.
7. The day when the health system died
Accidentally or not, Bulgaria's accession to the European Union saw the country's health care system life support taken off. Interestingly, this did not plunge into mourning doctors and patients, but drew battlelines between them, each seeing the other as its archenemy. Which could make even more doctors and nurses seek better life on the open labour market.
8. Free travel to the paradise?
To the regret of foreign journalists, Bulgarians did not start invading Western Europe after every single person from its 8 million-strong population was given a way out of what is often perceived as one of Europe's poorest and most corrupt nations. Unfortunately for both sides, this can not be said of the Roma, who don't hide they are going West to steal. On the positive side, free travel worked its first miracle in warming ties between Bulgaria and Romania. Hundreds of Romanians are more than happy to cross the border with Bulgaria every weekend to do some shopping here - it's nice, cheaper and the people are firendly.
9. Paradise for second-hand cars
Bulgaria gained itself the reputation of second-hand cars paradise after its entrance into the EU and the lift of import taxes. Traffic jams and complaints about the environmental damage being wrought on Bulgaria are starting to gain speed. We have every reason to believe these concerns will be fuelled...
10. He who laughs last, laughs best
Most of these conclusions make eurosceptics very happy. Well, they simply forget that those who laughs last, laughs best.
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