Parliamentary Assembly

Mr President, Mr Secretary General, ladies and gentlemen, I take the floor with a feeling of satisfaction at having the opportunity to pay my respects to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, the Organisation which in the Bulgarian mind stands for the principles of democracy. The Council of Europe, the Organisation that was the first to open to the East after the fall of the Berlin Wall, indicates to the other European institutions the way to the future, the way to the unification of our continent.

Currently, Europe is at a crossroads similar to that which appeared after the end of the second world war, the fiftieth anniversary of which we will celebrate soon. The continent was divided then by an ideological and political barrier, which in the course of over four decades horrified the European nations.

Five years ago, it was believed that, once the wall tumbled down, the problems would be solved. It was believed that it would not take much time. That was a period of romantic illusions. Life was not that simple and it confronted us with political, economic, social and ethnic problems on a tremendous scale. The division that in 1989 we believed we had overcome threatens to re-appear if we do not realise the imperatives of the future and the challenges of twenty- first century Europe.

Mr President, I need hardly persuade you and the esteemed members of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe of the historical responsibility that we all share so as not to miss the real chance to settle conflicts in the continent and to stabilise and unite Europe in a cohesive social, economic, cultural, legal and political European space. I need hardly note the profound meaning.of the goal to create a Europe of citizens.

We all realise that the attainment of this alluring goal is a common challenge, the response to which requires the concerted efforts of the European states and institutions and of every individual citizen of the continent. This is the way to overcome, to put it mildly, the obstacles that exist today, such as bloodshed and the general instability in some regions in the Balkans and in the eastern part of the continent; the grave economic, social and other problems of transition in central and east European countries; the continuing economic recession in the west, to say nothing of the various forms of xenophobia, anti-Semitism, racism, militant nationalism, religious and ideological intolerance that occur in one part of the continent or another.

The destiny of people, both in the east and in the west, and their security and prosperity in the coming decades, will depend on the decisions that we politicians will take in the next few months or years since security, be it political, military, economic or social security, is indivisible. We all want a peaceful, secure, democratic, fair and prospering Europe which guarantees its citizens all rights and freedoms. It may seem an ambitious goal in the context of the present- day conflicts and hardships of the transitions as experienced by the new democracies. However, it is absolutely feasible. Its achievement will require the sustained and concerted efforts of all countries. Naturally, there are risks. However, if a new division of the continent, with all the ensuing political, social and migration threats which that division entails, is to be prevented, we have to take those risks.

We believe that peace in Europe and its advancement can be guaranteed solely on the basis of making it a cohesive political, economic, military and social area. Therefore, we consider Bulgaria’s integration into this area as the major task of the Bulgarian Government. We believe that the existing invisible, but tangible division of the continent may be overcome on the basis that brought together the west European countries after the 1940s when they united to overcome the centuries-long enmity and rivalry.

The elements composing the formula of an effective response to the challenge of a united Europe are multiple and diverse. They include the efforts to build political stability, to develop further the democratic institutions, to establish a system of democratic security in the continent, to recover the ailing economies in central and eastern Europe and to provide social security to all members of the European community.

I would like explicitly to underscore another element of the formula and that is the pressing need to change the way of thinking; to depart from the clichés of the bloc approach of rivalry and division in favour of the modem European concepts of the present day. Is there a more vivid example of the advantages of such an approach than Strasbourg, the centuries-old crossroads city that used to be an apple of discord in a whole period of history and which today is one of the capitals of Europe, a meeting place of European ways and a symbol of the pan-European identity? History has shown that the problems of each country could be solved in a united Europe alone.

The Council of Europe was destined to play the burdensome role of a pioneer in the integration of central and east European countries into the European structures. Loyal to freedom, democracy, the rule of law, human dignity and human rights, the Council of Europe is successfully performing its functions to guarantee and to promote those underlying values and to be a bridge in respect of the cultural unity of the different parts of the continent.

The Council of Europe, has been recording undeniable achievements ever since it was established. They are the continually evolving unique system of enhancing, guaranteeing and protecting human rights and freedoms; an ever-enriching system of standards in all areas; efficient and fruitful co-operation at government-to-government, parliamentary, regional and local level, and so on. Regardless of whether it is national security or the protection of the environment, cultural exchanges or transborder co-operation, you have remained loyal to your mission to bring democracy to each individual citizen of Europe and to make democracy a way of thinking and a life pattern from Gibraltar to Vladivostock.

The European architecture confronts the Council of Europe with new problems, responsibilities and tasks. We are deeply convinced that the Council of Europe should evolve into a real pan-European institution. Today it has thirty-four members, of which my country is one. However, the process of enlargement is far from complete. It is a question that is cardinal not just for the Council of Europe, and a question that has more to it than a geographic dimension alone. I avail myself of the opportunity to welcome the excellent co-operation and active commitment between this Assembly and the Committee of Ministers to bring the underlying values of the Council of Europe to the applicant countries on the way to their full integration into the Organisation.

The relations of the Council of Europe with other European structures, especially the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe and the European Union, are likewise a relevant issue. We are all aware that there are many points of contact, even overlapping spheres in the activities of those institutions. However, I am convinced that each of those institutions has its future place in a Europe of the citizens and this requires promotions of relations and co-operation between them. I am also convinced that, in the future, the Council of Europe will retain its identity in the new European architecture.

Let us not forget that, unlike the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe, the European Union, Nato or Western European Union, the Council of Europe is the only organisation which, in the foreseeable future, will assume a real pan-European identity. This makes it a unique forum of political dialogue and interaction where all European states can meet and focus their efforts on the solution of the problems that they have in common. That possibility should not be underestimated or neglected.

The efforts of the Organisation, and of the member states, to align its structure and activity to the new requirements of the present day and the new role of the Council of Europe are praiseworthy. The effective use of the existing potential could be of crucial significance in surmounting many of the challenges that we face. Let me just mention the Organisation’s capacity to prevent existing or potential sources of tension, which constitutes an essential part of the Council of Europe’s contribution to the Pact on Stability in Europe. .

The admission of new member states occasionally leads to new problems which need to be solved, or it focuses attention on different aspects of problems that have been discussed for quite a long time. At present, some east Europeans feel insecure because of the conflicts raging around them, the lower living standards, the impossibility of travelling freely around Europe and the losses that they have sustained as a result of UN sanctions. That makes them feel inferior. They do not want to be treated as second-rate Europeans. It is evident that new concepts and new mutually shared ideas are required if the discontent, scepticism and indifference which make their way into the minds of the public are to be overcome.

I want to refer to another issue. The Vienna meeting of the heads of state and government of the Council of Europe member states put on the agenda the contribution of the Council of Europe to democratic security and the need to respond to the challenges of the twenty-first century. We all know how significantly the economy affects social and political security. In relation to that, I would like to note that it is perhaps time already for the Council of Europe to address within the framework of its competencies some key political aspects of the economic development of the continent. I think that that is an issue that deserves to be considered.

Central and east European countries are in an uneasy process of transition. Beside the common goals and direction, there are specific features in the development of each. The Republic of Bulgaria is sustaining difficulties that are typical of each of them but there are also difficulties arising from geostrategic realities.

In addition to the high social costs of transition, my country, perhaps in largest measure among the countries that are not directly involved in the conflict in the former Yugoslavia, sustains the burden of the huge direct losses from the strict implementation of the trade and economic sanctions against Serbia and Montenegro and against Iraq and Libya. I am referring to direct losses amounting to many thousands of millions of dollars, and no assistance or support rendered to help us cope with the extremely negative consequences of the sanctions. While we recognise our democratic transition as an undeniable achievement, I should like to stress the complicated socioeconomic problems that our people are currently facing. This predetermines some of the first actions of the Bulgarian Government and I should like to mention some of them in brief.

Parliamentary elections in my country late last year resulted in a new domestic political configuration. The impressive victory in the elections by the socialists, left-wing agrarians and ecologists led to a new majority in parliament and to a cabinet of coalition. The definitive expression of the will of the voters generated conditions for political stability and development of a long-term strategy to pull us out of the deep socio-economic crisis and continue building a democratic society and socially oriented market economy.

The Bulgarian Government today is a team of politicians who agree in their evaluations and concepts of the country’s present day and future and who are determined to be committed to efficient administration and governance based on the values of pluralist democracy, respect for human rights and the rule of law. All these values lie at the heart of the work of the Council of Europe and constitute the basics of the future of our continent. For us as a government the attachment to European democratic standards is an indisputable priority.

The government’s major objectives in the economic and social spheres are gradually to achieve a stable economic growth, curb inflation, contain crime and establish clear rules for the economic life of the country. Our effort is focused on the revival of production, restructuring of the economy and advancing the reforms in agriculture. The government attaches extreme importance to privatisation. Its large-scale implementation is about to start.

Technological and infrastructural innovation is a primary task for the Bulgarian Government. Our integration in Europe is impossible without modem communications and without active and free exchange of goods, capital and people.

The social cost of the transition borne by the majority of the Bulgarian people is very high. Despite the tremendous difficulties, we have the ambition resolutely to slow down the drop in living standards and reduce it to zero for the most vulnerable social strata. It is absolutely clear to us that the country can pull out of the crisis only with the joint efforts of Bulgarian citizens in the key sphere of economic development and in solving the most acute social problems. Social legislation and reforms in this area are among the government’s main priorities. We intend to institute legally autonomous social funds operating on the principle of being self-financing and with only partial budget subsidising. I should like specially to underline the hopes that we pin on our participation in the Social Development Fund of the Council of Europe so as to facilitate the solution of problems in areas such as health, education and the reduction of unemployment.

Reliable operation of our law enforcement system, naturally strictly abiding by the principle of the separation of powers, will be essential in the government’s work. I should emphasise that we specially appreciate interaction and co-operation within the framework of the Council of Europe in the future development of institutions in Bulgaria as a state committed to the rule of law.

Through executive and law-making efforts we are seeking to guarantee democratisation and further development in local self-government. This will improve our participation in the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities, the importance of which forum it is difficult to overrate.

A characteristic feature of the transition in my country is the successful solution of ethnic problems and tensions that we inherited from the turbulent history of the Balkans. Equality of citizens before the law, the protection of all fundamental human rights and freedoms and the creation of conditions for the free development of individual and civil society are the pillars of our constitution. All this, in addition to our historical tradition of tolerance, gives us grounds to believe that Bulgaria will be a country of peaceful co-existence for the mutual enrichment of different regions and cultures.

Our government is committed to its foreign policy, the major targets of which are to guarantee national security and economic growth and strengthen democratic processes. Bulgaria’s integration into the European and Euro-Atlantic economic, political and security systems is a major priority for us. This means that continuity is a clear-cut feature of our foreign policy strategy.

We intend to make all necessary efforts to fulfil the rights and obligations under Bulgaria’s association agreement with the European Union which became effective on 1 February this year. We are convinced that the results of these efforts will give further opportunities to Bulgaria to continue negotiating admission to the European Union immediately after the Intergovernmental Conference in 1996. As a parallel step we will intensify co-operation with the states associated with the European Union and the interaction with their structures that are already in place. We intend to take an active part in regional forums and initiatives that tally with our foreign policy targets.

In formulating policy on security systems, the government is guided by an important declaration agreed by the consensus of the political forces in parliament at the end of 1993. We will use the opportunities furnished by Nato and Western European Union so that if organisations are enlarged in future it will be possible for Bulgaria to join them with complete respect for our national interests and on the full understanding that Bulgaria’s security will not be detrimental to that of other states, near and far.

As we have repeatedly stated, the government will pursue a policy of stabilisation in the Balkans based on principles such as the renunciation of territorial claims, the inviolability of national borders, respect for national sovereignty, non-interference in internal affairs and equitable relations with all neighbouring states. We intend to seek new integrated forms of Balkan co-operation and assistance to promote initiatives correcting military imbalances in the region. In no form, direct or indirect, not even under the aegis of international organisations, will Bulgaria be involved in military operations in Balkan conflicts.

May I say a few words about the conflict in the former Yugoslavia and the international sanctions imposed in relation to it. We are deeply concerned about the real threat of a further outbreak of the conflict with fresh vigour and a possible spillover. The Republic of Bulgaria continues to believe that a peaceful, just and lasting settlement is possible in the European context alone, with the help of the European and Euro-Atlantic institutions and the United Nations, while the balance of power in the region is retained.

The issue of phasing out the Yugoslav sanctions has become a growing urgent political and economic necessity in the general context of the peaceful settlement of the Yugoslav crisis. Sanctions are increasingly threatening the stability of the third states that they affect. The losses caused by sanctions and the deficit in adequate material for international assistance increasingly undermine the democratic development and economic reforms in the states that border on the states where there is conflict and stand in the way of their ambition to integrate into European and Euro-Atlantic structures. No doubt the removal of the Yugoslav sanctions, in parallel with a peaceful, just and lasting settlement of the conflict, will give an additional vital impetus to the development of European integration processes. It is claimed that there can be no peace in the Balkans in the absence of European unity and understanding; however, there cannot be a united Europe in the absence of peace in the Balkans. Concerted efforts are therefore required.

The Bulgarian Government believes that the countries bordering on the country of conflict – the states in the north, south-east and west alike – that are directly affected by the Yugoslav sanctions can and should contribute to a stepping-up of the process of seeking a solution to the conflict, a parallel removal of the restrictions on trade with Serbia and Montenegro and a revival of the political dialogue among all countries in south-east Europe.

It was at our initiative that five of the countries affected by the Yugoslav embargo agreed on a collective demarche to the United Nations Secretary General and the Security Council concerning the special economic problems faced by third countries as a result of the Yugoslav sanctions. The initiative is open to other affected states wishing to adhere to it.

Mr President, let me again express my satisfaction with the opportunity to present to you some of the Bulgarian Government’s views on domestic and European issues.