Saxe-Coburg 5 Years Later: Bulgaria Signed EU Accession Treaty on Time

Domestic | April 25, 2010, Sunday // 12:37|  views

Former Bulgarian PM and Tsar Simeon Saxe-Coburg signed Bulgaria's EU accession treaty on April 25, 2005. Photo by BGNES

Former Prime Minister and Tsar Simeon Saxe-Coburg said it was very important that Bulgaria managed to sign its EU accession treaty on April 25, 2005.

“The fact that we were admitted to the EU means that we had been prepared. There are no gifts here, no charity. Indeed, there is a lot to be done here but April 25, 2005, was really important, said Saxe-Coburg speaking exactly five years after the day on which he signed the treaty for Bulgaria’s EU accession on January 1, 2007, as cited by BGNES.

Saxe-Coburg admits he took advantage of the offer of Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker to sign the treaty in April 2005 instead of in June of the same yet.

“I think this was extremely important because right after that there were the referendums in France and the Netherlands which rejected the EU Constitutional Treaty, so who knows how this might have affected us. We might have ended up in the situation of Croatia today, which is fully prepared for membership but has to wait,” the ex PM stated.

He called upon the Bulgarian society to generate more calm, tolerance, consistency and objectivity with respect to the government of the country and the effects of the economic crisis, instead of focusing on confrontation.

“I remain convinced that centrist and liberal thinking is something with which many goals can be achieved. The individual is the most important thing for the liberals, the very humaneness that are lacking in right now perhaps because of the financial situation of many people,” said Saxe-Coburg whose party, the National Movement for Stability and Prosperity, that he founded in 2001 identified itself as a liberal formation.

He admits that his messages about positive thinking and “replacing Bulgarians’ brain chip” has brought upon him much ridicule but that a few years later he is still standing behind the same ideas.

“Many people say, “Brussels wants this or that from us!” No, we are Brussels now. We have to change our chip in this respect as well because we are now acting on Brussels behalf. No one is forcing us with a stick to do what is to our benefit. We have to realize that if our neighbor is doing well, we will be doing well. This is very important in terms mentality instead of being pessimistic or pitying ourselves over our poverty – this desire to show to everybody that we are struggling the most, or that we are being harassed by Brussels,” explained the former Tsar.

“Judging by the publicity given to all the negative things that have been directed against me, I don’t know if that is fully deserved, but I am even more thankful to the people which remember me with good,” Saxe-Coburg states.

We need your support so Novinite.com can keep delivering news and information about Bulgaria! Thank you!


Tags: Simeon Saxe-Coburg, EU accession, 2005, former PM

Back  

» Related Articles:

Search

Search