Ekaterina Zaharieva: Europe Has to Realise that the Balkans are Integral to its Security
21 June 2018 News
‘I am glad that Europe is now awake to the new reality after the migrant crisis and in view of the its new relations with the USA, but we are still to do away with the divisions between us, which are no longer limited to the East-West contrast, but also extend to that between old and new Member States. We now realise that we have to take a look around, and become part of global decision-making. I hope that reform in Europe will not be limited to the Euro area: we should not create nucleus, the rest of us being a mere part of the market.’ These were the words of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Ekaterina Zaharieva at the Economic Forum in Plovdiv today. The event attended by politicians, economists and analysists was co-organised by the Delphi Economic Forum and the Centre for Liberal Strategies.
Minister Zaharieva stated that resolving the long-standing Sofia-Skopje dispute and the dispute over Macedonia’s name left only one more sensitive line of division in the Balkans: that between Belgrade and Pristina. ‘All European leaders spoke in support of starting accession negotiations with Macedonia but, sadly, enthusiasm has waned after agreement was reached on its name. Did European leaders believe that, being people of the Balkans, we would not reach an agreement? And will convenient excuses continue to be invoked like Bulgaria and Greece, which did not greenlight the commencement of accession negotiations with Skopje? Regrettably, some of the founders of the EU, France included, have not answered the question of where Europe’s security borders lie. I hope that we will have an answer on this matter on Tuesday. If we do not understand that the Balkans are integral to Europe’s security, it may be too late to come to this realisation in one or two years’ time,’ the Deputy Prime Minister added.
Minister Zaharieva highlighted that Europe needed to realise that both some of its eastern and some of its southern neighbours pose difficulties, Africa being slated to double its population in 2050, adding to its migration rate, which reached a record high in 2017, when 68.5 million migrants were registered. ‘No future-proof solution can be found before we have solved the issue of what form our comprehensive migration policy should take. If this does not materialise, there can be no common vision for the EU,’ she stated.
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