February 18, 2014
The news of Kiev's carnage echoed in Bulgaria with particular strength. For months many Bulgarians have been wondering in horror what would have happened to their country if the EU entry was still only a prospect. And with good reason.
For months many Bulgarians have been wondering in horror what would have happened to their country if the EU entry was still only a prospect.
And with good reason.
On many occasions, even after its accession to the European Union in 2007, Bulgaria has bowed to Moscow's demands in a scandalous and sneaky manner.
But the picture is not that black and white.
The violence in Kiev laid completely bare not only the brutality of Russia's hard power and guerrilla warfare tactics, but also the limits of EU’s soft-power diplomacy.
It is astonishing that twenty years after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Ukraine was slipping back under Kremlin control.
It is also astonishing that seven years after accession, Bulgaria has completely lost sensitivity to Brussels and rulers hardly notice the criticism coming from there.
Playing carrot and stick doesn’t seem to work not only when dealing with powers like Russia.
Yet it is namely because of the violent clashes that we all were reminded of what Europe originally stood for.
Bernard-Henri Lévy said it best as he spoke on February 9 to the crowd gathered in Kiev's Independence Square, known as Maidan.
“Not the Europe of accountants, but the Europe of values. Not the Europe of bureaucrats, but that of the spirit. Not the Europe that is tired of itself, that doubts its mission and its meaning, but an ardent, fervent, heroic Europe.”
May 14, 2020
February 24, 2014
A quarter of a century ago Ukrainians and Bulgarians escaped from the clutch of Soviet dominance. But Russia's influence remained strong both in Kiev and Sofia. This is something that protesters in Kiev know well, unlike the fact that Bulgaria has been a member of the European Union for seven years already.
May 14, 2020
February 19, 2014
The bloody events in Kiev came as the most shocking wake-up call that in today's world toothless, lofty rhetoric is way off the mark. Brussels misunderstood the severity of the crisis as well as the power of Russian influence over Ukraine. Sofia just pretended to misunderstand, trying to tease neither Russia, nor EU.