Courrier des Balkans | From our correspondent in Romania | Saturday, June 01, 2024
Interview by Benjamin Ribout
Based in Roussé, Bulgaria, a town on the Danube bordering Romania, Vladimir Mitev is a journalist. He works for Bulgarian and Romanian public radio stations.
Le Courrier des Balkans (CdB): You have named your blog on relations between the two countries The Bridge of friendship, in reference to the eponymous bridge linking Roussé to the Romanian town of Giurgiu. However, there are only two bridges over the Danube, on a river border of over 600 km…
Vladimir Mitev (V.M.): First of all, it should be noted that these bridges were built for geopolitical reasons, following international pressure. The Roussé-Giurgiu bridge dates back to 1954, and was built with the support of the Soviet Union in response to the entry of Greece and Turkey into NATO, when the Eastern bloc needed better logistics. As for the New Europe Bridge between Vidin in Bulgaria and Calafat in Romania, it was Austrian intervention as part of the Stability Pact for South-Eastern Europe that enabled its completion. Located at the western end of the Bulgarian-Romanian border, very close to Serbia, the bridge was considered necessary after the wars that ravaged Yugoslavia in the 1990s, but also in the context of Bulgaria and Romania’s accession to the EU in 2007. Thirteen years elapsed between the signing of the agreement by the Bulgarian and Romanian governments and the completion of the bridge. This shows that the elites of the two countries are hardly enthusiastic about doing things together, and that it is mainly international pressure that is pushing them to take joint initiatives. Bulgaria and Romania also lack people and organizations who can act as relays to bring greater dynamism to bilateral relations and create the conditions for mutual trust.
CdB: How would you assess the development of relations between the two countries since their accession to the EU in 2007? What’s going well?
V.M.: From an economic point of view, European integration has had a very positive impact on relations between the two countries. In 2010, trade amounted to 2.8 billion euros, eight times more than in 2000. By 2022, the figure has tripled again to 8.5 billion euros. Tourism is also doing well: again in 2022, 1.2 million Romanians visited Bulgaria. The same positive dynamic can be seen in political relations since the start of the war in Ukraine: Sofia and Bucharest have moved closer together in terms of security, and a declaration of strategic partnership has even been signed. A Romanian-Bulgarian-Turkish naval force has also been set up to clear the Black Sea of floating mines.
The biggest challenge now is to change mindsets. The ability of elites to act together is hampered by procedures and a narrow interpretation of national interests. It’s up to citizens to drive the desire for rapprochement. Bulgarian-Romanian relations have been characterized by a certain mutual indifference and a great deal of inertia since the post-communist transition period. We need more mutual trust and more communication. However, the international context favors this, and we should take greater advantage of it, as it may not last. These changes imply a transformation in positioning. We need a real strategy between neighbors, rather than a “big brother” dictating to us from the east or west what we should do. To achieve this, we need to grow together as neighbors, and not oppose each other’s growth.
CdB: Do the political classes of the two countries intend to create a stronger regional alliance?
V.M.: I think that the elites of both countries are not used to carrying out joint projects, reaching consensus or agreeing on common policies. It’s also a problem of self-perception: we’re not aware that the way we interact in our respective environments creates more barriers, self-sufficiency and prejudice towards others. It’s as if no one had ever taught us how to coexist with other people from different societies and cultures, even if they’re not that far apart, as in our case! This lack of openness applies to elites, the media and the general public alike. Breaking with this egocentric vision is the first step, and it’s quite a challenge.
CdB: Does Romania expect a clearer “pro-European” orientation from Bulgaria? In other words, does Bulgaria’s “Russophile” tendency prevent Bucharest from trusting Sofia?
V.M. : Yes, Romanians still tend to perceive Bulgarians as “potential Russian agents”. I’ve noticed this in conversations and in the Romanian media. There’s also a feeling of superiority among some, as if Latin culture were superior to Slavic culture. I’ve heard plenty of stories of Bulgarians giving up trying to establish ties with Romanians because of this constant feeling of being looked down upon. The same mistrust applies to the Bulgarian side. There’s a lot of stereotyping going on, perhaps because for a long time, nothing filtered between the two countries. This is slowly changing.
Bulgaria cannot be seen as a mere “proxy for Russia“. There are also Russian investments in Romania, for example in energy, not to mention the fact that the second Romanian-speaking country, Moldova, also has close traditional ties with Russia. In both cases, ties and identity are complex. The two countries, which joined the EU and – in part – the Schengen area at the same time, are often lumped together even though they are not progressing at the same pace in all areas, and therefore regularly try to dissociate themselves, in order to show Brussels that all is not black and white. For example, while Bulgarian President Roumen Radev is regularly criticized for his Russophile stance, he also signed a strategic partnership with his Romanian counterpart Klaus Iohannis in March 2023. He also organized the Three Seas Initiative summit, described as an international anti-Russian format, in Sofia in 2021. Today, anything that isn’t anti-Russian is labeled “pro-Russian”, because there’s a polarization caused by the war in Ukraine. The fact that Western countries used to do business with Russia, on a much larger scale than Bulgaria, doesn’t make them any less Western. Of course, we shouldn’t underestimate the fact that many Bulgarians still feel on the periphery and are skeptical of Western Europe. Being pro-Western is not irreconcilable with a commitment to, let’s say, more peripheral tendencies. On the contrary, it might even make our “Westernness” more firmly rooted in the reality of our regions.
CdB: Didn’t the arrival in power of Kiril Petkov’s We Continue the Change party give rise to signs of improvement in relations between the two countries?
V.M.: Relations have indeed entered a very positive phase under the Petkov government, in power between December 2021 and July 2022. A large number of files have been unblocked. Infrastructure projects began to be discussed, and it was even decided that a new bridge would be built between Ruse and Giurgiu. Bulgaria also agreed to cooperate in the Fast Danube project, to make the Danube navigable all year round. There was also the gas interconnection project with Greece – later completed – which enabled Romania and Moldavia to receive Azeri natural gas. In this respect, the Petkov government represented an enormous step forward. change from the days of Boyko Borissov. He has since fallen from grace, and his party is not expected to be in a good position for the parliamentary elections on June 9, 2024.
CdB: After being included in the same enlargement package, Bulgaria and Romania are once again stuck together at the gates of the Schengen area. Since March 31, freedom of movement has been assured for air and sea travel, but is there a consensus in both countries on the idea of eliminating land border controls between Bulgaria and Romania?
V.M.: Yes, even if the consensus is against the idea! The agreement with Austria on the accession of Bulgaria and Romania to the Schengen area without land borders provides for tighter controls at the Bulgarian-Romanian border. While this may be a way of better controlling irregular immigration, it runs counter to the EU’s philosophy. That’s why another, much smaller voice has emerged, calling for the abolition of all land border controls between Romania, Bulgaria and Greece. This idea is supported in particular by Romanian MPs Dacian Cioloș and Vlad Gheorghe, Bulgarian MP Daniel Laurer and a Greek MP from the European People’s Party. However, their proposals were rejected in both Romania and Bulgaria. While legally possible, the abolition of land borders requires a high level of cooperation between the two countries, as well as political imagination, ambition and courage.
CdB: Are the inhabitants of Roussé-Giurgiu looking forward to the abolition of land borders?
V.M.: I’m delighted to see that more and more people in the region are realizing the potential of cross-border living. I was just talking to a young man who dreams of organizing a Bulgarian-Romanian festival. For him, Roussé would gain a lot from the abolition of controls, as would many other areas such as transport services, industry, the fight against exodus and the environment. At present, many citizens of Ruse lack knowledge and contacts on the Romanian side. So, in addition to new bridges, the Giurgiu-Ruse ferryboat, which should start operating soon, or the abolition of border controls, we are also in great need of friendly ties. It makes no sense to sit back and wait for years until someone, somewhere, finally deigns to accept us into Schengen. It’s up to us to make the changes.
Photo: The Friendhsip Bridge at Ruse-Giurgiu as seen from above (source: Yavor Michev)
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