site.btaFrench Ambassador Speaks of Communism, Relations with Russia, Reforms in Bulgaria and the EU in Valedictory Speech

French Ambassador Speaks of Communism, Relations with Russia, Reforms in Bulgaria and the EU in Valedictory Speech

Sofia, September 13 (BTA) - Giving a valedictory speech after a three-year ambassadorial term in Sofia, French Ambassador Xavier Lapeyre de Cabanes spoke of the impact of the decades of communism on Bulgaria's present development, of relations with Russia, of rule of law and the diversity of the EU. He addressed an event organized by the Atlantic Club of Bulgaria.

He said that relations with Russia must not be determined by history - and even less a a distorted history - but by the interests and values Bulgarian people believe in. Bulgaria owes nothing to present-day Russia, not even its freedom in 1878. Bulgaria owes to the Russian, Finnish, Polish, Ukrainian and Estonian soldiers who died for its freedom during the Russo-Turkish War, he added.

Ambassador Lapeyre de Cabanes believes that communism is at the core of all woes of present-day Bulgaria, and called the September 9, 1944, take-over of power by the communists in Bulgaria was "a terrible date in the history of Europe" because it was the start of the demise of the Bulgarian elite.

He said that communism was based on oppression and that failure to understand it, to identify the people responsible for the crimes of the regime and the lack of understanding of the mechanisms of oppression that were used, allowed the communist-era Security Service officers to escape with impunity with some of them even taking enviable power offices.

To admit that the communist regime committed crimes means to identify the culprits, he added. The lack of punishment and repentance for communism ultimately makes young Bulgarians leave their country, the Ambassador said.

He spoke much about the Bulgarian judiciary and recalled his famous "bad apple" remarks about the Bulgarian judicial system which sent shockwaves across the judiciary.

In a TV interview in 2014, Xavier Lapeyre de Cabanes accused a judge of mishandling a bankruptcy case against two Bulgarian subsidiaries of a French company and spoke of "bad apples in the Bulgarian judicial system," a phrase that gained currency in the media.

He believes that the scandal that followed was not really caused by what he said but by the fact that everything he said was true and everybody knew about it.

He said that to those who accused him of being undiplomatic and behaving in an unacceptable manner, his answer is that it is even more unacceptable for a EU member state to allow such behavior [as the judge's] to exist without punishment for years on end.

The speaker said that the events in 2015 and the failure of the constitutional reform aimed to pave the way for profound changes in the judiciary proved that the opposition against the judicial reform remains very strong and the camp of the status quo scored another victory.

Dwelling on the EU project, Ambassador Xavier Lapeyre de Cabanes said that the diversity of the EU is both a strength and a weakness. He believes that there was a historical and a political need of enlargement of the Union but now a dedicated effort must be made for closer integration among the European nations.

He catalogued what he sees as key accomplishments in bilateral relations during his tenure, including in culture, child justice and social relations, and mentioned with pride an exhibition of Thracian treasures in the Louvre in 2015.

The Ambassador ended on a positive note. He said that Bulgaria remains committed to its European orientation. It has a reputation among foreign investors for its qualified labour, privileged geographic location, good infrastructure which is improving fast, a burgeoning digital economy, among other things. Its agriculture is seeing a revival.

"I believe in Bulgaria and its future and the future generations of this country," he concluded.

Ambassador Lapeyre de Cabanes is leaving Bulgaria for an ambassadorial tenure in Burkina Faso.