The End of EUphoria - in Kiev and in Sofia

The news of Ukraine's EU treaty debacle echoed in Bulgaria with particular strength.

These days many Bulgarians are wondering in horror what would have happened to their country if the EU entry was still only a prospect.

And with good reason.

On many an occasions, even after its accession to the European Union in 2007, Bulgaria has bowed to Moscow's demands in a scandalous and sneaky manner.

But the picture is not that black and white.

The collapse of talks between Kiev and Brussels laid completely bare not only the brutality of Russia's hard power and guerrilla warfare tactics, but also the limits of EU’s soft-power diplomacy.

It is astonishing that twenty years after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Ukraine is slipping back under Kremlin control.

It is also astonishing that at the end of its sixth year after accession, Bulgaria has completely lost sensitivity to Brussels and rulers hardly notice the criticism coming from there.

Playing carrot and stick doesn’t seem to work not only when dealing with powers like Russia, but also when dealing with small countries like Bulgaria.

The question is does the European Commission really care?

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