site.btaUPDATED Vice President Iotova: Bulgaria’s Foreign Policy Missing as Public Debate Topic

The topic of Bulgaria’s foreign policy is missing from the public debate, and it is not among the leading topics in the election campaign either, Vice President Iliana Iotova said here on Sunday as quoted by the head of State’s press secretariat. She was speaking at the opening of the concluding course of the Governing Skills National Programme at the Dimitry Panitza Bulgarian School of Politics.

Bulgaria often endures foreign decisions and does not try to be a full participant in the decision-making process at the European and world level, Iotova argued.

In her speech, she reviewed the Bulgarian foreign policy in the context of the country’s membership in the EU and NATO. “Undoubtedly, as part of these unions Bulgaria is a full member and takes part in the decision-making. However, our country should have a stronger and more categorical position, to speak louder and not to implement someone else’s decisions,” Iotova said.

According to her, the European foreign policy has long ago transformed from a policy of initiative into a policy of reaction, which is seen clearly in crisis situations when Europe prefers declarative diplomacy. The war in Ukraine is an example of the EU’s lack of capacity to prevent and manage conflicts, Iotova added. Bulgaria could have had a bright role at the start of the conflict as a peace mediator; instead, the war in Ukraine divided the Bulgarian society and became an internal political problem. 

Iotova put an emphasis on the so-called economization of the foreign policy, and gave the energy dependence on Russia as an example. “To what extend can foreign policy be led in the classical manner, is that even possible or are economic interests and dependencies dictating international relations? We are about to let Gazprom become the biggest factor on the international plain,” the Vice President argued. According to her, in Bulgaria the crisis with gas supplies has grown into a political question - for or against Russia – that during the election campaign is being used mostly by those who have nothing else to offer.

Iotova outlined as a main aspect of Bulgaria’s and Europe’s foreign policy the political enlargement of the EU, in particular the European perspective of the Republic of North Macedonia and its relations with Bulgaria. In her words, anyone wishing to join the European family should understand that it is neither a bank nor a donor, but freedom and human rights protection. “We want guarantees for the rights of Macedonian Bulgarians, for real goodneighbourliness, for respect for history,” the Vice President said. She described as a success of Bulgaria’s foreign policy the upholding of the Bulgarian position on the inclusion of Bulgarians in the constitution of the Republic of North Macedonia. “This is an example of how we succeed when all institutions and political parties work together,” she noted.

“The EU’s enlargement in the Western Balkans concerns another important matter: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Kosovo. This knot can be untied only with a clear perspective for these countries, and the sign should come precisely from the EU; otherwise they will always remain points of conflict,” Iotova said.

Foreign policy is closely linked to security policy, she also said. Iotova put an emphasis on the EU’s migration policy which, in her words,  has been failing to find an adequate solution for eight years now.