“I welcome the German government’s willingness to resume talks with Bulgaria on the country’s accession to Schengen,” said former President of the European Parliament Hans-Gert Poettering in an interview for Radio Bulgaria after the presentation of his book We Are United for the Better. My European Way on the Bulgarian market. Its first translation into any language is in Bulgarian. In it, Poettering traces the 35 years he has spent at the top of European political life. Angela Merkel’s fellow party member is one of the most influential German politicians, the only MEP to have invariably been a member of the European Parliament since the very first time direct elections for EP were held. The Christian-Democrat Hans-Gert Poettering is also a leading figure in the process of EU enlargement.

“I have no doubts that we shall soon be welcoming Bulgaria to Schengen. Provided, of course that Bulgaria meets all membership criteria,” says Hans-Gert Poettering.

In one interview you say that Bulgaria and Romania’s accession to the EU was rash. In view of current developments in Ukraine, that political decision back then “quenched Russia’s thirst”. Thirst for what?

“When Bulgaria and Romania joined the EU in 2007 we were perfectly well aware that the two countries’ legal systems were very much flawed. We also know that these problems have not been overcome as yet,” Hans-Gert Poettering says. “In Bulgaria there is a deficiency in the rule of law. But I must stress that no one in the EU calls your EU membership into question. But I would also like to encourage your country to conduct reforms in the judiciary which is obviously still entangled in a mesh of old as well as new dependencies. I am glad Bulgaria and Romania are today members of the EU, especially in view of the events in Ukraine, the Russian aggression there, because we cannot rule out a scenario in which the Russian aggression could have been targeted at Bulgaria and Romania had they not become members of the EU. We know that Russia has been going out of its way to exert its influence in Bulgaria and your country deserves all the support it can get from the EU so as to uphold its sovereignty within the Union.”

But it is precisely with regard to Russia that there have been serious differences inside the EU itself – Poland and the Baltic states are demanding a more severe approach to Moscow, whereas Greece and to some extent Bulgaria are more wary when it comes to sanctions against Russia. Do you think Bulgaria can be said to be Russia’s Trojan horse of sorts inside the EU, as quite a few Western conservatives were cautioning when the country joined the EU?

“There must be no doubt that Russia supports parties of the extreme right in Europe and that it is helping in the formation of socialist parties in these countries,” says the German Christian-Democrat. “Russia is pursuing a policy we do not approve of. I feel sure that the current government of Bulgaria is upholding the country’s foreign policy orientation and that Bulgaria is still a reliable partner to the EU.”

“We are united for the better” – this is the title of your book, yet in Europe the lines of division are discernible more and more clearly – for example between North and South. The economically powerful North, including Germany is less and less inclined to foot the bill of the South which is in the grips of economic crisis. Is the EU divided into poor and rich?

“We all bear the responsibility for the future of the EU and by “we all” I mean all of the 28 members of the Union,” says Hans-Gert Poettering. “Europe has a population of more than 500 million and we must all show our solidarity, for better or for worse. It is true there are huge differences inside the EU, but the European North is not in prime condition either. That is why it is so important to help each other, especially in hard times.”

English version: Milena Daynova