'Bulgaria Has No Problem with Roma Ousting from France.' Or Failed Attempts at Evasion

Novinite Insider » EDITORIAL | Author: Ognian Kassabov |September 21, 2010, Tuesday // 14:38
Bulgaria: 'Bulgaria Has No Problem with Roma Ousting from France.' Or Failed Attempts at Evasion

The position voiced by the Bulgarian government over the controversial French campaign of ousting Roma, many of whom are Bulgarian citizens, must raise some serious concern, both morally and politically.

Statements issued by Bulgarian PM Boyko Borisov and Minister of Foreign Affairs Nikolay Mladenov have taken up a highly submissive and accepting stance that leave Bulgaria in a weak position, show lack of concern for human rights and Roma integration and could adversely affect Bulgaria's larger interests.

The already highly controversial Roma crackdown campaign in France was exacerbated red-hot upon the leaking of an official circular letter from the French Minister of Interior to local authorities and police, instructing them to target illegal camps, "with priority those of Roma." This effectively refuted claims from senior French officials that their efforts do not target a specific group and raised an outcry, including in EU institutions.

The extreme exchange of words that followed – which need not be repeated here – set the tone for a disrupted European Council last Thursday. Initially intended to discuss the Union's foreign policy, it morphed in an exercise in rhetorics over the Roma issue.

The Bulgarian position, as it emerged from the European Council, was baffling in its powerlessness, and featured a couple of gaffes to boot.

Basically, PM Borisov came out stating that Bulgaria does not have any problem whatsoever with the actions of French authorities. And neither does Bulgaria want to raise any issue, for it feels threatened by France about its entry in the Schengen Area in 2011.

The first part of the above, shameful as it is, was already well known from statements by foreign affairs minister Nickolay Mladenov. In the weeks since the start of the French campaign, he has been remarkable in his steadfast efforts to defend it, stating that media is distorting it and speaking up for the right of countries to evict offenders. A week ago, he went as far as pre-empting the results of the ongoing European Commission investigation of the actions in France, saying that there is no breach of EU legislation involved. This, by the way, was reiterated by Mladenov over the weekend.

Thus the fact that the Bulgarian PM explicitly stated his country does not care much about another country ousting its citizens on unconfirmed charges - and by ethnic targeting - comes only as a summarization. The revealing explanation given renders things even more offensive.

Bulgaria turns out to be a state that is willing to sacrifice the interests of some of its citizens and its commitment to the values of tolerance for the presumed support (or lack of opposition) of another country (France) for its Schengen entry. (After the failed, but much brandished Eurozone entry, accession to Schengen might give a boost to the public support of the GERB cabinet.  And not a few Bulgarians might not care for Roma all that much anyway.)

This is an explicit concession of weakness, a self-assumed loser position, a stance that can only repel, not attract, outside support. More so when most EU member states and institutions are, to say the least, already very suspicious of what is going on in France.

This largely spineless standpoint is already a political gaffe in itself. It explicitly concedes French efforts to link two issuesSchengen and Roma – that have not and should not be officially tied together.

When we come to more colorful but still sad matters, you have PM Borisov vividly reporting on the "scandal" between French President Nicolas Sarkozy and President of the European Commission Manuel Barroso that erupted at the European Council – a dispute in which the Bulgarian PM should have taken part.

Then you have Borisov's vivid statement that at the EU summit "the opinion prevailed that Roma are nomadic tribes that should be given the opportunity to travel all across Europe." And you are left wondering what kind of tribes Bulgarian politicians are and whether they should be given similar access to Europe. Borisov's choice of words might carry the warm nuances of his nonchalance loved by so many Bulgarians, but it certainly does give a foul ring when brought to the European stage.

Gaffes go on as Borisov explains that Bulgaria does not always need to be viewed in the same breath with neighbor and fellow EU newcomer Romania, which has voiced concern about French actions toward its own Roma. Talk about working together and not wanting your neighbor worse off than you.

Romanian authorities, for that matter, have once again consistently held a contrastingly firm and sensible position. They requested France to adequately motivate its ousting campaign and have held – and continue to hold – a string of consultation meetings between relevant ministers from the two countries' cabinets. And of course Romania also wants to join Schengen in 2011 and has the same problems with justice and home affairs – and with integrating its sizeable Roma population – as Bulgaria.

Ordinary Bulgarians and those familiar with Bulgaria's recent history remember some highly relevant words by communist leader Todor Zhivkov, who ruled the country 1956-1989. When giving a speech in 1987 discussing what Bulgaria should do in the context of perestroika going on in the Soviet Union, Zhivkov stated: "Comrades, we decided to wait and see... We'll lower ourselves, we'll crouch under for the storm to pass, and then we'll see what to do."

Some things have not changed all that much.

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Tags: GERB cabinet, Roma, Roma integration, Bulgaria, Romania, France, EU, European Union, European Commission, Boyko Borisov, Todor Zhivkov, Nikolay Mladenov, Nicolas Sarkozy, Jose Manuel Barroso, European Commission, Schengen

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