A new path ahead for the European Union – this is what the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen outlined in her annual state of the union address in Strasbourg a few days ago. To summarize – the economic and military independence of the EU is what underlies this new path; attention was also given to a number of other issues such as the social problems of the people living in Europe, migration, disinformation, even the social networks and their being used by children.

However, it is the policy of rearmament and the fact that Europe continues to stand steadfast in support of Ukraine that has been drawing the greatest amount of praise but also criticism. Attention was also given to another major conflict – that between Israel and Hamas, with the EU taking a stand in favour of the two-state solution – Palestine and Israel, something Tel Aviv and the US refuse to discuss.

What are, essentially, the new things we are seeing in the EU’s rhetoric, and how does Bulgaria fit into the new line? We talk to Ivaylo Valchev, MEP from There Is Such a People (ITN) and the European Conservatives and Reformists Group:

“Real problems have emerged in Europe, and all of a sudden it started being realistic. We saw quite a few realistic overtones in the annual state of the union address. Mrs. Ursula von der Leyen said things which, to my mind, it seemed unthinkable I could hear from her just a few months ago,” says Ivaylo Valchev. “I mean the stand on migration, industry, the automotive industry, the fact that the Green Deal is obviously not a panacea that will, all of a sudden, make Europe a wonderful place to live in. We also heard some intentions that were quite good and in the right direction. But that is the key word here – intentions. It remains to be seen how they will be applied in practice.”

Expectedly, interest is highest in the EU’s military doctrine and the aid for Ukraine. But Europe is not getting ready for war, Ivaylo Valchev says:

“It’s not about a union that will go to war. It’s about something that has been discussed for a really long time – that Europe must be capable of defending itself and not depending on anyone else even if it is a good friend like the USA. The question arises – what are we ourselves doing to guarantee our own security? That is important – defence, production so the continent’s industry can cater for its own needs. If we take Bulgaria, that means the functioning of the energy industry, of agriculture and doing everything necessary so that we obtain all funding Europe envisages for the construction of the infrastructure, for strengthening our borders,” says Ivaylo Valchev.

“A policy based on lies, initially conceived as a PR effort, but subsequently posing the risk of possible dramatic events,” that is how, on a much more critical note, sociologist Kancho Stoychev describes the policy outlined by the EC president. Stoychev, former owner of the Bulgarian sociological agency Gallup, does not agree that Brussels is not pushing the EU to war.

“What we have here are politicians who are wrecking our European project. A project, which I dare say is the most meaningful project in human history. But it is most meaningful as a project of peace. As a project for war it will destroy Europe. What Mrs. von der Leyen is doing is suicide for us all as European citizens,” says Stoychev but goes on to predict that the current policy will not last long, because the citizenry want change.

Despite the heated debates at a European level, when it comes to Bulgaria there seems to be something that is definitely positive – since the beginning of the term of the new European Parliament, the Bulgarian MEPs have been meeting regularly to discuss and work together on issues connected with our national interest – something unprecedented in any of the previous European Parliaments, Ivaylo Valchev says. One case in point is our recent success in countering the attempts by Skopje to lobby for having “a centuries-old Macedonian identity and language” as part of the progress report of the Republic of North Macedonia on its way to membership of the EU, says Ivaylo Valchev.

Translated and posted by Milena Daynova
Photos: EPA/BGNES, BGNES, BTA