On Friday 12 January, the Bulgarian Prime Minister, Boïko Borissov, called for an improved relationship between the EU and its Turkish and Russian neighbours, but did not state whether his country, which currently holds the Presidency of the Council of the EU, would be investing in this.
“We must remain highly attentive, seek to normalise relations with our neighbours”, the Prime Minister told a press conference with the President of the Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, but added that his country would always stand behind the decisions made by the Council concerning the two countries (our translation throughout).
As regards Turkey, Borissov stressed that this is the EU’s largest partner country in the region. “Subject to a number of changes on Turkey’s part and goodwill on ours, things could improve”, he said, voicing his hopes that the Turkish government would rethink its management of the rule of law situation. He also expressed hopes that the declaration between the EU and Turkey on migration would be fully implemented.
The day before, at a meeting with a group of journalists visiting Sofia, the Prime Minister called for relations to improve. “Should we make relations worse between the EU and Turkey, continue to exchange hard words at the highest level?”, he asked a group of journalists, including representatives of EUROPE, in Sofia. “We need to think in terms of risks and benefits and try to improve relations”, he explained, stressing that the better relations are, the better things will be. However, Juncker puts conditions on the improvement of relations. Although he considers that the relationship with Turkey is enormously important to the EU as a whole, he reiterated that the country is rapidly moving away from the European ambitions that were once its own. “We will look at the progress Turkey makes in the coming months, but there will be no progress as long as there are journalists in Turkish prison cells”, he warned.
Shaping a new relationship with Ankara
The Bulgarian Foreign Affairs Minister, Ekaterina Zakharieva, proposed a reflection on a new relationship between the EU and Turkey, during meetings with the European press in Sofia on 11 and 12 January. “We should try to improve relations, but this does not mean burying the problems”, she said. She called for emphasis to be placed on the positive parts of the relationship, such as migration cooperation. The Prime Minister stressed that Turkey was a country of 80 million inhabitants, with sizeable economic development and a highly operational army. He also highlighted the importance of the trade in goods between the EU and Turkey and cooperation in the fight against terrorism and in the Syrian crisis.
Zakharieva said that although it is possibly not realistic for Turkey to become a member of the EU, “this does not mean that we should not be close”. She went on to say that it might be more realistic to start discussing a different relationship with Ankara, reiterating that accession negotiations with this candidate country have not moved very far forward since 1999.
“We should be able to work objectively”, Zakharieva said, adding that there was a positive tendency to sideline the emotional aspect. She feels that there are signs for the normalisation of relations following months of tension and short sentences.
Discussions with Moscow
Although Bulgaria has a reputation of being close to Moscow, Prime Minister Borissov pointed out that his government had voted in favour of sanctions against Moscow, despite the consequences for his country. He explained, for instance, that gas and nuclear projects had to be stopped. “It is very clear that we have been the most loyal member state concerning relations with Russia” in terms of sanctions, he said, adding that unlike Bulgaria, other member states had pursued their own projects with Russia, referring to the gas pipeline North Stream. Bulgaria is not Moscow’s biggest Trojan horse within the EU, said Vessela Tcherneva, director of Sofia’s office of the European Council on Foreign relations.
But over and above sanctions, the Bulgarian government considers that it is important to improve relations with this large neighbour. “When you have powerful neighbours in defence and economic terms, it is better to be friends with them”, Borissov suggested. His foreign minister added that sanctions “don’t mean you’re not allowed to discuss important matters”, such as Syria, energy and the economy. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)