Deutsch
English
FrançaisSub menu: Home
Home / Index of Authors
Shopov, Vladimir
5 articles of this author have been cited in the European Press Review so far.
More say for EU citizens
As of 2012 public petitions which manage to gather a million signatures on a particular subject in a quarter of EU states will automatically oblige the EU Commission to present a draft law on the issue in question. Europeans' fortified self-assurance demands this right to have more say, the daily Glasove writes: "Citizens' initiatives play an important role in the utopian idea of a European democracy. Giving citizens the chance to have certain control over the legislative process would put them in a position to force the EU Commission to legislate on any serious problem. This would shorten the notorious distance between the average EU citizen and the complex structures of the EU and presumably enhance the education and culture of Europeans in general. ... A further desirable effect would be the possibility to discuss topics which affect not just individual states but the entire continent."
» full article (external link, Bulgarian)
More from the press review on the subject » EU Policy, » Upbringing / Education, » Society, » Europe
Vladimir Shopov on how Europe needs more dependence
The euro crisis has quashed any hope of balanced European integration, writes political scientist Vladimir Shopov in his column for the daily Glasove: "Europe's noble and long-cherished desire for integration on the basis of a Utopian social mobility and cultural rapprochement, bolstered by an increasingly strong European identity, has not been realised. Instead the market is proving to be the main axis for mutual dependence. A fact that is difficult to convey in times of global crisis. … The entwinement and inter-dependency of Europe's states is imbalanced. It is more pronounced in the economic and financial areas than in the areas of politics, education and society. The mobility between states is limited, universities remain national institutions, and the European parties have underdeveloped political structures. … Europe's elite must start thinking about how it can further develop this inter-dependence."
» full article (external link, Bulgarian)
More from the press review on the subject » EU Policy, » Integration, » Economic Policy, » Social affairs, » Politics, » Europe
EU commissioners jeopardise European dream
Lobbyism has won the upper hand in Brussels under EU Commission President José Manuel Barroso, the weekly Glasove contends, and examines the careers of those who were commissioners during Barroso's first term in office: "Ireland's former EU Commissioner for Internal Market and Services Charles McCreevy went to budget airline Ryanair, which with its constant violations of EU norms was a permanent customer of the Commission. The Bulgarian commissioner Meglena Kuneva found her way into [French commercial bank] BNP Paribas. The well-known politician Günther Verheugen has secured himself a post at a major British bank and EU Commissioner for External Relations Benita Ferrero-Waldner is with German insurance giant Munich Re. ... Brussels has a lobbyism problem and it begins right at the top. The financial rationalism of the ex-commissioner is completely understandable but it turns the 'European dream' into capital. If as a result entire states begin to let themselves be guided by the logic of their own interests, no one will be able to blame them."
» full article (external link, Bulgarian)
More from the press review on the subject » EU Policy, » Corporations, » Economic Policy, » Germany, » France, » United Kingdom, » Ireland, » Europe
Just punishment for Bulgaria
It seems highly probable that the EU will impose sanctions against Bulgaria for an unprecedented embezzlement of EU funding. The daily Dnevnik expresses understanding for this move: "The EU is practically freezing Bulgaria's membership and then withdrawing. Instead of employing diplomatic means such as the application of safeguard clauses and the threat to suspend membership the EU is undertaking a step that will put an end to the arrogance of the Bulgarian government. As a result, the poorest country in the Union will become a net payer into the EU after only two years of membership. However, the Brussels report makes no mention of whether there is a way for Bulgaria to return to normality in the foreseeable future."
» full article (external link, Bulgarian)
More from the press review on the subject » EU Policy, » Bulgaria
The EU's inability to pressure Bulgaria for reform
José Manuel Barosso, president of the European Commission, yesterday announced that the EU's progress report, due to be published on June 27, will contain sharp criticism. Political scientist Vladimir Shopov speculates on what action the EU intends to take. He contends that enacting the safeguard clause would not be a "productive measure". "The idea of the safeguard clause is only complicating the debate about what form further reforms can take now that the EU lacks effective instruments to push through reforms in justice and domestic policy... The EU seems to have resigned itself to the fact that the most that can be achieved in Bulgaria is stabilisation at a low level. Beyond the world of politics, Bulgarians are reacting with a mixture of resignation, shame and hope that someone will turn up who is able to establish some measure of order in this regime of criminal-political networks which appears to have settled in for good."
» full article (external link, Bulgarian)
More from the press review on the subject » EU enlargement, » Bulgaria
© 2005-2012