Bulgarians Still EU's Greatest Fans 5 Years On - NGO

Head of Sofia-based NGO "European Institute" Lyubov Panayotova. Photo by Cross

Bulgarians remain the greatest fans of the EU five years after their country joined the Union, according to Lyubov Panayotova, head of the Sofia-based NGO "European Institute".

"Bulgarians' expectations were great, and they were and remain among the greatest fans of the EU. But we also should recognize the fact that they have been rather disappointed," Panayotova commented on BNR Tuesday, after on January 1, 2012, Bulgaria marked five years since its EU accession.

The head of the European Institute, a NGO set up in 1999 to aid Bulgaria's EU integration, expressed regret that no formal events were held to celebrate the country's fifth anniversary as an EU member.

"We are the poorest in the EU. But the advantage of being EU members has been felt – especially by the farmers who've received a lot of money under EU projects," said Panayotova.

"We have ended up in a moment that hasn't been so great for the EU. We had a good start but then fell behind," she added regarding Bulgaria's EU track record.

Panayotova has predicted that 2012 will be the last year when Bulgaria's post accession progress on problem areas – judiciary and home affairs – will be monitored by the European Commission under to so called Cooperation and Verification Mechanisms.

"There have been reforms but that's not sufficient yet. The very Bulgarian society has higher requirements for the justice system. We didn't seem to have such reflexes earlier," she summed up, while also urging Bulgaria to be a pro-active EU member.

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