Precisely ten years ago - at the beginning of 2007 - Bulgaria became member of the European Union. Since then the country has seen a great many things changing though in certain aspects it is still on the verge of two worlds - the European East and the European West. In 2018 Bulgaria will take over the rotation presidency of the Council of the European Union from Estonia, and after six months leading the bloc will hand over the presidency to Austria. This presents an exceptional opportunity for the country to articulate its ideas about the development of the Union and to take an active part in shaping European policies. The objectives set for the Presidency should be ambitious enough however feasible too.

The conference „The future of Europe, Bulgaria's EU Presidency 2018 and the priorities of the Bulgarian business and society” that was held in Sofia voiced the priorities for the period January-June next year.

Bulgarian Member of the European Parliament from the European People's Party Eva Maydell said more about three of them:

“Our foremost priority is how to create more jobs, greater competitiveness and stronger growth. If we show clearly that we stand behind enterprising people, innovation and a progressing economy, we can give it a lot of meaning. The second priority is related to the protection of all European Union citizens. This is about ways to have better security and higher-quality justice. Therefore I am happy that Bulgaria is one of the countries which have clearly and consistently maintained their position advocating a strong, independent and effective European Prosecutor's Office to implement and provide quality protection of the financial interests of the Union. Encouraging e-justice and introduction of technology to the judicial system are also of critical importance. The third priority of the Union is to grow into a powerful factor in international affairs, a topic which has gained in importance lately. Here what matters most is leadership at the European level.” 

Work to prepare the EU Presidency is a top priority for the Bulgarian caretaker government, Deputy PM Deniza Slateva said and added that during the Presidency Bulgaria would take part in Brexit talks. We are going to insist on holding collective talks - with all member states, not separately with each member country. Bulgaria is going to support policies that encourage free movement of people, goods, services and capital.

Foreign Minister Radi Naidenov joined the conference in Sofia as well and termed Brexit a challenge for both the European Union and the United Kingdom. According to the Bulgarian diplomat Europe should learn a lesson from the UK referendum for the sake of building a more pragmatic Europe able to provide a more adequate response to the expectations of the citizens. Minister Naidenov enumerated a few principles that Bulgaria would stick to during its 2018 EU Presidency:

“Our contribution to the debate on the future of the EU will be based on the preservation of the integration model as a method of solving problems among others. Therefore, the guiding principle of the Bulgarian presidency will be responsibility for achieving the overall objectives and priorities of the Union by linking the schedule of the Presidency to the EU agenda. Secondly, it is vital to keep the integrity and unity of the bloc by looking for common solutions and responses to challenges whileat the same time taking into account issues sensitive for each of the member countries. The third principle is consolidating solidarity and cohesion as fundamental principles in all EU actions. The fourth principle is continuity, predictability and stability in the process of making decisions during the successive EU rotation presidencies.”

Radi Naidenov also launched the idea for the submission of Bulgaria's application to join the Eurozone. He said this would not be a popular decision but was a question that should be discussed at the right moment.

English Daniela Konstantinova