Radio Bulgaria invited Professor Zdravko Popov, professor at Sofia University, to comment on Bulgaria’s relations with neighboring Balkan countries in 2023. Professor Popov is a diplomat, one of the founders and first director of the Diplomatic Institute of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Following the geographic azimuths clockwise from the north, the conversation starts with Romania.
Russian aggression in Ukraine blocks shipping in the Black Sea. It also hampered traffic along the Bulgarian-Romanian border and made it a logistical problem for the EU and NATO.
“Yes, it turns out that a river naturally divides us, but I would say that it divides useconomicYes and even culturally. My observation is that we have relatively little dialogue with Romania, even if we are reminded from time to time that we share a common destiny, like our membership of the EU, and now Schengen. “It’s strange because I find it hard to find much overlap in the policies the two countries pursue and the way they communicate with other EU members.”
Bulgaria and Romania are moving on different paths, but there is a prejudice within the EU that when these two countries have a problem, they should share it and solve it together. The war in Ukraine and all tensions in the international environment force us to seek forms of cooperation with the countries with which we are in common family and to find ways of bilateral cooperation in all areas. The construction of a third bridge between Bulgaria and Romania over the Danube is important for the infrastructural development of the region and for Europe.
“The routes that pass through Bulgaria and go to Europe must be diversified. There is a traditional route that goes through Belgrade, another through Romania, but Romania is the country that is closest to us from point of view of European membership, NATO membership, cooperation in the Black Sea, policies regarding the region as a whole. And we should build more roads and bridges connecting us. is really a bit strange that this process is slow and needs to be accelerated. “The war in Ukraine has diverted much of the Asian routes that can no longer pass through Russia and has clogged the routes connecting the Caucasus to Turkey . Bulgaria has become a major canal that must accommodate ever-increasing traffic,” emphasizes Professor Popov.
The Bulgarian relations with Turkey The focus is on the problem of illegal migrants, who constitute an obstacle to the country’s accession to the Schengen area, but good neighborliness with Turkey has much greater potential.
“Whatever we do and whatever we think, Turkey remains our neighbor and it is an important neighbor. We must strengthen cooperation with Turkey in many directions and with regard to economic cooperation and sea security Black, which is an important topic today. Turkey is We have to somehow play the role of intermediary between the East and the West, even between Russia and the United States, and we have to overcome some of our prejudices and attitudes born from history and carry out fruitful cooperation in all areas. We cannot turn our backs on our Turkish neighbor just because it is not a member of the EU. It does not matter If we want to have a full-fledged Balkan foreign policy, linked to our national interests and those of the region, we must have very active cooperation in all areas with the Turkish state. This will inevitably have an effect on policy migratory and others. »
Good relations with neighbors are also an important factor for the development of Bulgaria’s border regions. In 2023, the trend of Kardzhali being the only district outside the capital to experience population growth continued. Is the return of Bulgarian citizens from Türkiye continuing?
“We must not forget that, regardless of how they left Bulgaria following the so-called ‘process of rebirth”, these people remained in some way attached to Bulgaria. Most of them have retained their properties and have relatives in Bulgaria. They stayed related in terms of language, education, friendships. There’s noThere are too many ties holding them in there, let’s call it double position. We must have a more targeted policy towards them and the Bulgarian state must not leave this policy in the hands of a single policy to party. This should be state policy and part of state relations. The Bulgarian Turks constitute one of the instruments of cooperation with Turkey. They are one of the bridges. They themselves see this advantage of being both there and here And appreciateing some small opportunities that European membership provides in Bulgaria.”
In the second part of the interview, Professor Popov examines the strategic cooperation between Bulgaria and Greece, relations with North Macedonia and Serbia’s specific path towards the EU.
English publication: Al. Markov
Photos: balkan-union.eu, BTA, BGNES, AFP
