The Eastern Partnership Initiative is an integral part of the European policies for development in the debate on Europe 2020. This is what the Bulgarian member of the European Parliament from the group of socialists and democrats Kristian Vigenin said in an interview for Radio Bulgaria. The initiative opened in 2009 and though a bit belated, it does add a new dimension to EU cooperation with six of its eastern neighbors – Ukraine, Moldova, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Belarus. The EU project seeks to strengthen ties with them without an explicit commitment for accession.
“The economic crisis is a tough challenge for the whole of EU, however its member countries have various mechanisms of dealing with it”, Mr. Vigenin said. “Most of EU nations have advanced economies. Even Bulgaria is well developed compared to the Eastern countries and has the potential to cope with the crisis. For the eastern countries the crisis has proved time of major hardships entailing a deep social crisis mirrored in high unemployment and budgetary conditions that do not allow for active social policies. It would be a good thing, if we could make predictions of Europe in 2020, because then the Western Balkans will presumably have joined EU. This will be of great importance for Bulgaria. We will be no longer divided from the bloc by the space of the Western Balkans which has for quite some time been a source of instability. On the other hand we shall need a clear 2020 vision of our neighbors Ukraine, Moldova, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Belarus. At this stage we want to create closer ties, especially in economy. We have to answer the question whether those countries can join the EU one day and whether we want this to happen.”
Kristian Vigenin thinks that the earlier Bulgaria’s positions regarding EU’s foreign policy, including Eastern Partnership, are clarified, the more effectively this country will be able to defend them. He points to the need of clearer stance on the Western Balkans given that some of the countries in the group have association agreements with EU or are candidates to join the bloc.
“There are still issues of division between member countries”, MEP Kristian Vigenin admits. “For example, Kosovo hasn’t been recognized as an independent country by any of the EU states, and there are a lot of visa problems. Macedonia has held the status of candidate for EU accession since 2005, but because of the dispute with Greece over that country’s name, it cannot open accession negotiations. Steps should be made to get the country out from the freeze. The process of negotiations on the name and EU accession talks should go simultaneously. Overall, we have to see the big goal in the region, and this is still a problem for the EU foreign policy.”
Where Eastern Partnership is concerned, the EU-Russia relations are likely to influence the process strongly, Kristian Vigenin comments. He believes that sooner or later Moldova, Ukraine and Belarus will find their place in EU, so they have to be encouraged. Vigenin does not rule out possible EU accession of Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan, provided they are willing to integrate.
“This will be important for Bulgaria in the longer term. In practice we share maritime borders with those countries. The Black Sea divides us from them. Regarding the EU in 2020, the issue of Turkey’s possible accession is also quite important. Will it become a EU member? If not, what type of relations will be maintained with it? I personally believe that Turkey can bring considerable added value as a EU nation, especially in the foreign-policy strategic aspect. On the other hand, Turkey has been very slow in meeting EU accession criteria. The dispute with Cyprus as EU member country is particularly painful. To recap, Bulgaria has to work out a very clear stand on the Western Balkans’ EU prospects, on relations within Eastern Partnership and across the Black Sea region. As a country that belongs to this region Bulgaria is expected to known the situation in detail and should be more active, making its opinion more audible and more influential”, concludes Kristian Vigenin, Bulgarian member of the European Parliament from the group of socialists and democrats.
English version Daniela Konstantinova
