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Minchew, Ognjan
4 articles of this author have been cited in the European Press Review so far.
National holiday divides Bulgaria
Bulgaria celebrated its national holiday on March 3. The daily Dnevnik analyses the historical and political debates surrounding the date: "March 3 - the day of Bulgarian liberation from Ottoman rule - continues to divide us in our approach to our history. The Russophile wing of Bulgarian society sees the liberation as a categorical argument for our eternal affiliation to the sphere dominated by Russia in syncretic, geopolitical and ideological terms. For pro-Western liberals and democrats the Russo-Turkish war of 1878 was simply a Russian 'colonial war' whose arrogance pinnacled in the Soviet occupation of 1944. Bulgarian communists meanwhile praise this event as a second liberation. Nevertheless it robbed the Bulgarian state of its independence for half a century."
» full article (external link, Bulgarian)
More from the press review on the subject » History, » Bulgaria
Bulgarian amassador to improve the country's image in Brussels
Following the resignation of Bulgarian Minister of the Interior Rumen Petkov amid accusations of corruption, there's been a major reshuffle in the Bulgarian government. New ministers have been appointed for the portfolios of domestic affairs, defence, health and agriculture. Prime Minister Sergei Stanischev has announced that the current ambassador to Germany, Meglena Plugchieva, would become his deputy and be in charge of EU funding for Bulgaria. Ognyan Mincheva comments: "The changes underline the powerlessness of the government, both the coalition and Prime Minister Stanischev. He had the chance to get others to agree with his stance, but these nominations are a rotten compromise between the factions of the Socialist party and President Georgi Parvanov. The only important move has been the nomination of ambassador Meglena Plugchieva. She is to mediate between Bulgaria's ailing institutions and the EU and give Bulgaria a new image in the EU."
» full article (external link, Bulgarian)
More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Bulgaria
EU cuts off subsidy payments to Bulgaria
Several cases of corruption have prompted the EU to stop payment of subsidies for Bulgaria's agricultural sector. Funding for several other programmes (Phare, Ispa) has also been frozen. Ognan Mintchev comments: "It's very difficult for the Bulgarian state to comply with the EU's institutional rules and procedures. The economic elite and its oligarchic involvement in national institutions has taken on criminal proportions in its self-enrichment using the nation's capital. ... This trend was evident throughout Central and Eastern Europe during the process of privatisation of state property. But unlike in Bulgaria, once the property had changed hands in the other countries, the new economic elites there agreed to use the money in an orderly and legal fashion in future. The Bulgarian oligarchy has refused to do this."
» full article (external link, Bulgarian)
More from the press review on the subject » EU Policy, » Bulgaria
Russian power plays in southeastern Europe
Russian President Vladimir Putin is on an official visit to Bulgaria, where contracts are on the table for large and controversial energy projects, including one regarding the route of the South Stream Pipeline. Ognjan Mintschev thinks these projects function mainly as a way for Russia to retain control over the former Soviet sphere of influence. "Europe's 'soft edges,' those small countries exhausted by the post-communist transitional years, represent a territory that is most easily destabilized and altered. ... Since Russia's 'energy prominence' is shrinking, it is trying to win back those former satellite states through huge investments. Russia is in a hurry for another reason. Europe currently is rather weak in terms of geo-political influence, and the USA is sinking in the quicksand of the Iraq war."
» full article (external link, Bulgarian)
More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Russia, » Bulgaria
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