H.E. Jeremy Hill: UK, Bulgarian Business to Profit from EU, NATO Entry

Novinite Insider » INTERVIEW | March 15, 2004, Monday // 00:00
H.E. Jeremy Hill: UK, Bulgarian Business to Profit from EU, NATO Entry H.E. Jeremy Hill. Photo by Gergana Kostadinova (novinite.com)

Recently appointed British Ambassador to Bulgaria H.E. Jeremy Hill started his career in the Diplomatic Service in 1982 when he was appointed Assistant Legal Adviser. From 1987 to 1990 Hill was Legal Adviser at the British Embassy in Bonn and between 1991 and 1995 he worked as Legal Counsellor in the Attorney General's Office in London. Jeremy Hill's next appointment (1995-1998) was as a Counsellor for the Legal, Justice and Home Affairs in Brussels. From 1999 to 2001 he headed the Southern European Department in the FCO, and thereafter he was appointed Ambassador to Vilnius. He presented his credentials to President Georgi Parvanov on February 18, 2004. Jeremy Hill is married and has a daughter and a son.


H.E. Jeremy Hill answered questions of Novinite.com Editor-in-Chief Milena Hristova


Q: What will be the main priorities during your mandate in terms of further co-operation between Bulgaria and Great Britain?

A: Already there is excellent co-operation between our two countries in many fields - political, defence, commercial and cultural. I will seek to maintain and strengthen this. We look forward to working alongside Bulgaria as a full member of NATO. I am delighted that accession is now likely to take place early next month on 2 April. I am also delighted at the progress made in Bulgaria's negotiations towards membership of the European Union. We have always championed Bulgaria's bid for membership. This has meant not only political support but practical help on how to comply with EU standards.

The prospect of NATO and EU membership also means new business opportunities in Bulgaria. I see it as my task to help British companies to become aware of them and take advantage of them. This would benefit both sides. Bulgaria needs continued foreign investment.

Q: What are your personal impressions from Bulgaria?

A: I have only been here now for 5 weeks, although I spent 2 weeks in Plovdiv and Velingrad in the middle of January. I have found Bulgarian people very warm and welcoming. I love the local traditions such as "Baba Marta" on 1 March. Both my wife and I are still wearing our Martenitza. The scenery is also very impressive. It is wonderful that Sofia has Mount Vitosha so near, for walking and skiing. Bulgaria appears an energetic country. There is a lot going on, whether it is in politics or business or just in peoples' ordinary lives.

Q: Bulgaria's government has been widely praised for meeting its international targets, concerning above all NATO and EU integration. Yet issues remain that cannot be brushed under the carpet. How would you assess Bulgaria's foreign and domestic situation judging by your impressions before you came to Bulgaria? Which issues remain of continuing concern?

A: Bulgaria is already making a significant contribution to international peacekeeping operations, for example, in Iraq, Afghanistan, Bosnia and Kosovo. The soldiers are operating in a difficult security environment. This requires courage and determination. We really appreciate that. The need for armed forces to be modern and rapidly deployable is a challenge for all countries in Europe, not only for Bulgaria. We welcome the fact that the Bulgarian Government is at present looking at how to modernise its armed forces.

The European Council highlighted in December the need to continue with reform of public administration and the judicial system. I am encouraged by the awareness of the need to address these. There is an open debate about this. But continued reform will require courage and determination on this front as well. We and our partners are helping and sharing our expertise as best we can.

Q: The United Kingdom has always vowed whole-hearted support for Bulgaria's EU and NATO entry. Now that we have received reassurance that the processes are on track, what obstacles and risks does Bulgaria face from now on?

A: Yes, the processes are on track. As I have said, the process of NATO ratification is shortly to be completed. This will be a tremendous achievement for Bulgaria.

On the EU front, the key challenges are to bring the negotiations to a successful conclusion and, in parallel, to continue with the pace of reform. This is particularly necessary in public administration, the judicial system and in dealing with corruption.

Q: Has Bulgaria already laid the basis for completing the reforms necessary to enable it to meet the EU entry challenges? Which are they?

In dealing with the areas I have mentioned, I am encouraged by the steps taken so far, for example, the changes to the constitution made last year. Progress generally in adopting legislation has been impressive. The important thing now is to translate that into effective implementation, to make sure that it all works in practice. This will help the ordinary citizen, but will also make Bulgaria more attractive to foreign investors.

Q: What is the image of Bulgaria in the UK? Does it suffer from being lumped together in generalisations with all countries in Eastern Europe?

A: I think Bulgaria generally has a good profile in the UK. In some areas, like tourism, it has been highly successful. Over 160,000 British tourists came to Bulgaria last year. If each of these has a good time and goes back and tells 10 or 20 of their friends, then you have got over 2 million people who will hopefully think that Bulgaria is a great place to visit. And, if a place to visit, then why not think about doing business or investing?

Q: How grave is the problem with illegal immigrants from Bulgaria in Great Britain?

A: There is generally great concern in Britain about illegal immigration. We have recently introduced a number of measures to tackle this problem. In the case of the countries coming into the European Union on 1 May this year, we have said that their nationals can come and work in the United Kingdom but they cannot claim benefits. Bulgaria is in a different position because we have not yet completed EU accession negotiations. For Bulgaria, entry is still controlled by the visa regime. This helps us reduce the numbers of those abusing our immigration system.

Q: How would you comment on the defiance of EU member candidates over the restrictions that the United Kingdom will impose on workers from the accession countries?

A: It is important to stress that a different regime will apply to accession countries entering the EU on 1 May this year compared with countries like Bulgaria and Romania. For Bulgaria and Romania, as I have said, the visa regime continues to apply. For the other accession countries, in opening up our labour market from 1 May, we have been more liberal than many of our EU partners. I think generally they have welcomed the new step we are taking. We will keep its operation under review.

Q: How would you comment on statements that Britain has made an armed truce with Europe, achieved at the price of postponing major decisions, including the single European currency issue?

A: I don't accept that picture. Britain makes a very strong contribution to the European Union and has very good relations with all our EU partners. On issues such as frontier controls we have a different position from our European partners because of our particular geographical and economic circumstances. Because we are an island, it has made sense for us to continue to operate controls at our points of entry. In the case of the single currency, the government is politically in favour of joining but believes that certain economic tests must be satisfied first. These include the need for our economic cycle to coincide more closely with that of other European countries.

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