site.btaSociologist Antoniy Galabov Warns of Risk of Bulgarian EU Presidency Being Compromised

Sofia, October 11 (BTA) - The big question is whether Bulgaria will avoid the risk of its Presidency of the EU Council in 2018 being compromised as a result of the internal political tension, Antoniy Galabov, sociologist and head of the Public Policies Lab with New Bulgarian University, said here on Wednesday. He was among the participants in a discussion on the priorities and challenges to the Bulgarian EU Presidency, organized by the United Agrarians party with the support of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation in Bulgaria.

According to the analyst, there are purposeful efforts to evade the topic of the Bulgarian EU Presidency, to reduce it to hotels and scandals about repairs, and to transform it into an understanding that Bulgaria is a hopelessly corrupted country where everything is possible.

Galabov noted, however, that the prospect of the Bulgarian EU Presidency failing is not realistic: this is a complex but well organized process, so the talks of failure are ill-founded.

According to him, Bulgaria should express its interest clearly while mediating between the various countries' interests; it could leave the impression of being a well-prepared and competent mediator and a country that understands well enough the process of EU's development while also having its own reading of the Union's priorities.

National Assembly Deputy Chair Tsveta Karayancheva said that Parliament will participate very actively in the EU Presidency's work. "Our message is to be united, reasonable, and positive because this is our opportunity to show Bulgaria for what it is on an European level," she noted.

United Agrarians leader Petya Stavreva commented that the Bulgarian EU Presidency will play an important role in the talks on Europe after 2020. "We all want less bureaucracy and simpler rules as well as a Europe that is closer to citizens. It is time to set the Bulgarian priorities on the European agenda," she said.

Stavreva added that one of the biggest challenges is to prevent the Bulgarian EU Presidency from being discredited through scandals and provocations.