Bulgaria Won't Boycott Euro 2012 over Tymoshenko

Bulgaria's Foreign Affairs Minister, Nikolay Mladenov. Photo by BGNES

Bulgarian officials will not boycott the Euro 2012 football championship in Ukraine due to concerns about the treatment of jailed former PM Yulia Tymoshenko, Bulgarian Foreign Minister Nikolay Mladenov has said.

"Boycott is definitely not the way that we should be following," Mladenov has told reporters in Brussels, adding that the EU should engage in a constant dialogue with Ukraine.

"If EU wants to attract Ukraine back to the track of reforms and to the democratic process, it should be clearly declared that, no matter who rules in Kiev, the country will have a European future if rules and European values are adhered to," the Bulgarian Foreign Minister has stated.

All EU commissioners will skip next month's football championship in Ukraine to protest the alleged ill treatment of Tymoshenko.

Bulgaria's national football team failed to qualify for the prestigious tournament.

Several European leaders, including Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev, refused to attend the 18th Central European Summit that was to take place on May 11-12 in Ukraine's Yalta, prompting Ukraine to postpone the event.

On Monday, Nikolay Mladenov pointed out that the Tymoshenko case is symptomatic of the problems in Ukraine's society.

He stated that some foreign investors, including Bulgarian companies, are being "literally chased away from the country", explaining that local citizens and companies are stealing foreign trademarks and denying them access to the Ukrainian market.

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