/ world today news/ Bulgaria is, to a large extent, illegal as an international presence. And as an aspiration to use the opportunities we have to be a factor on the international stage.
Let’s start from the back forward. The question was asked by Todor Kolev, may God forgive him:
“How will we reach the Americans?
That we will pass, when?
Comrades, ladies and gentlemen,
I’m just wondering how this is possible?”.
After we set out to shape the situation in our country according to the scenario with “cool” companies with three letters, we advanced, took off our tracksuits and entered two international institutions that work: NATO and the EU. There, however, our political representatives adopted the position of a silent letter – something strange for a country with such a turbulent history since its inception.
Let’s consider the role of Bulgaria in foreign policy according to the model of concentric circles.
Where do we live? Someone will say: “In Europe”. Yes, except that we are in the Balkans. From the northeast we border “European” Turkey. She, with her 3% territory on the Old Continent, looks upon us as a fiefdom. I’m not talking about Ankara’s latest actions before the elections and the brazen interference of “Sultan” Erdogan’s empire in our internal affairs. I’m talking about Sofia’s blindness to protect her interests. Why does “democratic” Bulgaria allow our “sister in arms” from NATO to consider issues in our bilateral relations, turning the chronology of their appearance in favor of Ankara? It is not a matter of living in the past, but starting with the contracts with the invaluable role of Simeon Radev at the beginning of the last century, and to this day Ankara remains in the role of a great gate, and Sofia – of a province. Our country must realize itself, get out of its democratic puberty, and become a driver of relations. Since the maxim that “It takes two to tango” is unquestionable, why do we let the neighbor dance as he pleases?
In fact, Sofia politicians began to “nibble Brussels sprouts” first in military terms, then in political terms. I.e. first we joined the US&co union and then the democratic European Union. The euphoria of both is starting to fade in Bulgaria, but the fault is mostly ours. In the name of our sloppy democracy, we have reduced the size of the army to a carriage of people, who we keep on measly wages, and whose combat equipment is worthy of movie sets of the action of a bygone era. But, let’s say, we had to work according to the “No money, act” textbook. But why don’t we move on to “The best defense is offense”? Why do we tolerate another of our “sisters in arms” – Greece, to also conduct its own policy? Athens has not been able to swallow the name of Macedonia for many years now. And why doesn’t Sofia use a simple triangular operation – to exert pressure on Greece – we have the means, but we lack the desire – to resolve the name dispute; to work in the same direction with Macedonia, which, however, feels our strong and sincere support, and not just our “unreserved” promises? Because one has to think in a slightly more global plan. If we had opened the door to Mons for Macedonia, would they still be secretly anti-Bulgarians in Skopje? Would the crisis that has dominated our neighboring country for years not be “natovized”, i.e. disabled? The question is, why doesn’t Sofia understand that if the bear plays with the neighbor, it will also jump over our fence?
Let’s turn to the west. But let’s not look all the way across the Atlantic. Let’s remember the forgotten geographical names such as Tsaribrod and Bosilegrad. How is it that, after Belgrade melted the Bulgarian minority by assimilating and crushing it in prisons and camps, today’s democratic Sofia “unreservedly” supports the Euro-Atlantic measures of the “Serb brothers”?! It will be unforgivable and dangerous for our policy to be “An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.” But we must have clear positions that promote our national interests. And the self-confidence of the Bulgarians – not only in Bulgaria.
There is nothing to talk about Romania. Simple and clear calculations – before we entered the EU en bloc, Romania was behind us in economic terms. We switched places today. Why did we allow it? Are the Romanians to blame for us?
When Bulgarians began to be elected as MEPs and European Commissioners, these “excellents” of ours unfortunately became the protagonists of Hristo Smirnenski’s “The Tale of the Ladder”.
They left from
“- Who are you?” the Devil asked him…
– I am a plebeian by birth and all Driplovians are my brothers. Oh, how ugly the earth is and how wretched the people are!” only too quickly they came to
“- Who are you?” asked the Devil hoarsely and slyly.
– I am a prince by birth and the gods are my brothers! Oh, how beautiful the earth is and how happy the people are!”. Well, “gods”, when will we cease to be known in Europe for not taking the right steps in pursuit of our interests, but only for the impersonal “Yes, I agree” “When will we see that the world is changing very quickly and that living in a parallel dimension? That we didn’t know how broken the Greek state is?” in the Peloponnese, and we let the Greeks into our country?
When we got to the refugee crisis, we were dumbfounded. Well, yes, our politicians live in their “Olympic” “Dondukov” 1 and 2, cheerfully enter the building with the motto “Union is strength”, only they do not think with their heads about Bulgaria, but with their pockets only for themselves. Because of which we have become a statistic for the EU, and not a worthy member – both economically and politically.
Europe, always moving at different speeds, began not only to recognize this fact, but also to want to institutionalize it. And what did Sofia do? He snapped loudly: “We don’t accept.” But beyond acknowledging the fact and rejecting it, how will we work in the future? Why did the Netherlands, on behalf of Benelux, invite the Visegrad Four to think together about the post-monolithic EU? And why don’t we look for our place outside the chorus of consonants in quartets, quintets, etc. polygonal configurations, in which Bulgaria’s position is capitalized?
We followed last year’s election campaign in the United States “with attention”. Is it true? Nonsense. They proved it to us. In early January this year, before Donald Trump entered the White House, Croatian President Kolinda Grabor Kitarovic went on a 10-day visit to the United States. After a meeting with Trump advisers, she said they talked about “how Croatia will find its place, we talked about our positions on open issues with neighbors, about our relations with neighboring countries and their integration.” And she also understood that Southeast Europe would not be a priority of the new administration. Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Kotsias followed her in Washington in March. He met Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. At the meeting, he noted that there was “nervousness in Turkey”?! But that wasn’t topic #1. Kotzias explained to Tillerson with an analysis of the situation in the Balkans, as well as the bilateral and trilateral cooperation that Greece is developing. On top of that, Kotzias told journalists that the US Secretary of State “requested our analysis of how security and stability can be achieved in the region, which forces are active and how they operate”?! In fact, the ball in the field of Bulgarian politics sent a publication to “Kathimerini”, according to which the Greek government was looking for opportunities to create lines of communication with Donald Trump before he won the presidential elections?!
So far – good. But how was the “Bulgarian lion” overtaken by the “Vardar falcon”? Well, here’s how: on March 22, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Nikola Poposki was in Washington and met Rex Tillerson. The occasion was a meeting of representatives of the countries of the coalition to fight against the Islamic State.
In fact, the politicians from Zagreb, Athens and Skopje wrote a couplet to the Bulgarian “gods”. Because our neighbors sought and gained access to the highest levels of power in Washington. To check their watches.
Speaking of the “high floors”, we missed the elevator for two. The first is probably the highest and most prestigious – the post of Secretary General of the United Nations. For unclear reasons, we became famous, but really, on a global scale – the last government at the last moment withdrew (?!) its support from the candidacy of the Secretary General of UNESCO and entered in her place the “excellent” Kristalina Georgieva. In the end, Bulgaria lost. And three times – because with her eyes on the UN headquarters in New York, Georgieva left the post of European Commissioner, which is in charge of Bulgaria. And? Well, we don’t have a European Commissioner, it’s a pre-election fight, we have to see who “we” will be in power, so we send “our” person to Brussels, right?
Again, due to the pre-election frenzy, we forgot that from January 1st we temporarily head the EU. Is this a problem? No. Because even if we act as superiors, we still listen to our “mentors”, who … protect their interests, not ours. And in order for the Bulgarians not to find out which of our officials are preparing our program for the European Presidency, the officials asked to remain anonymous, i.e. unknown to the public. Why? But they seem to have forgotten that the “Anonymous” have a different job – to wage hacker wars, to publish unflattering pictures of those in power, to threaten… Apparently, the task that the authorities have assigned to these “anonymous” is so shameful, moreover, it is impossible to let their names remain only for “own use”… This is exactly a foreign policy for excellent people.
Bulgaria continues to work in the “Foreign policy – de facto post factum” scheme. Until the Bulgarian politicians start being Bulgarians and don’t just exchange insults, our cart will always be stuck in the mud. But the mud started getting thinner and deeper. And the cart is not a lifeboat…
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Plamen Yotinski, editor-in-chief of BGNES Agency
#facto #post #factum #politics
