Magazine / Society / Romania and Bulgaria / Debate | 12/01/2007

In the Union of the Insane

Everyone agreed: the path should lead toward Europe, even if in the weeks before the entry of Bulgaria and Romania into the EU, some Euro-sceptical tones could be detected in those countries.

According to December's Eurobarometer , 62 percent of Romanians and 55 percent of Bulgarians take a positive view of their countries' accession to the EU.

Pro-Europeans dominate across the political spectrum. Even from the ultra-right-wing corner, the Romania Mare (Greater Romania Party), a discouraging word was seldom heard. Only the extreme Nationalists of the Bulgarian Ataka party were outright sceptical; even without the EU, they considered Bulgaria to be threatened by a "flood of foreigners." But a clear 'no' to the EU never crossed their lips.

In both countries, the press weighed in for accession to the EU. In Romania the three most important and widely read newspapers were pro-European - Libertatea, Eventimentul Zilei (both belong to the Swiss publisher, Ringier Verlag) and Jurnalul National. Likewise in Bulgaria, the media supported the government's EU track. There, too, western European media concerns have a strong presence: The largest newspapers, Trud and 24 Chasa, belong to the German WAZ company; the daily newspaper Dnevnik and the weekly Kapital belong to the German Handelsblatt Group.

"Return to Europe"

In Romania, during the final weeks before 2007, President Traian Basescu referred to accession as a "return to Europe." This bound hopes for freedom of travel together with hopes for an economic upturn. Likewise in Bulgaria – which has less of a tradition of identifying as European – people expected higher salaries and greater freedom with EU membership.

The scepticism arising just prior to the accession, also evident in the media, was blamed on pragmatic concerns: Particularly in rural Romania, residents fear increased prices for staple products. In both countries, questions arose as to whether regulations from Brussels would destroy local traditions. For example, in Romania production of bread and pork now must adhere to European standards; in Bulgaria, village liquor distilleries will have to pay higher taxes.

Bulgarian worries

If they were only ambitious and unified enough, Bulgarians could have demonstrated that they are very capable, the socialist Bulgarian Prime Minister Sergey Stanishev said at the 15 December European Council meeting. "Within one year, we have undermined the opposing arguments."

That is not quite true, because while Bulgaria can more or less convince sceptics in old Europe of its "Europe readiness," the exhortations of politicians at home do not convince all citizens. That resulted, for example, in the EU decision to continue banning the import of pork and milk products from this southeast European country. "Europe is afraid of our sausages," was, for example, the headline in the popular daily paper, Standart.

Bulgaria may get to chair the committee for consumer protection in the EU Commission – it will be headed by the universally respected former Deputy Foreign Minister Meglena Kunewa – but the domestic economy won't benefit from that at the outset. It is noted with a bitter undertone that only a few EU countries want to open their job market to Bulgarians.

Funds and languages

In the liberal newspapers of record, like Dnevnik or Kapital, a more self-critical tone dominates. "Bulgarian institutions already are dreaming about how they will siphon off the European funds," wrote Swetlana Georgiewa, commentator for Dnevnik, on 28 November. "But they already have experience there with the likes of us; that is why they have worked out a dozen criterion according to which we will be evaluated as of January 1."

"Bulgaria, you are joining the EU," began the daily advice column on page one of Trud, Bulgaria's largest-circulation daily. It advised, for example: "Know your own background and language, but understand foreign languages!"

Dealing with the past

Nevertheless, the final weeks before Bulgaria's EU accession were overshadowed by a dispute over how to deal with its communist past. The Parliament had just decided on a limited release of former State Security files. The limitation was explained as necessary to protect the security of the existing state.

"Years after the commencement of democratic change, and days before Bulgaria's entry to the EU, it is clear that some politicians remain in the service of the Secret Service," wrote journalist Sibina Krastewa on 8 December in the weekly paper, Kapital.

Romanian doubts

The closer they came to the EU, the more Romanians asked themselves how their membership would impact their daily life.

On 26 November, Emilian Isaila took aim at these worries in a commentary for the Romanian daily newspaper Eventimentul Zilei: "Recently one gets the feeling that Romania is entering a union of the insane. A union in which the beekeeper no longer can breed bees and the cows may no longer be milked the traditional way. We thought, when we entered the EU, that we would get higher salaries without working and could buy without paying. It is only natural that dairy farmers have to adhere to quality norms, that beekeepers no longer can sell impure honey on every street corner. But it took the EU to tell us so."

And when it comes to EU moneys, there were no illusions in Romania. "We will have to learn to give out several million Euro per day – with transparency, and for the good of humanity," said Finance Minister Sebastian Vladescu on 12 December in an interview with Romania's highest-circulation paper, the rather conservative Jurnalul National.

Opposition's warnings

Most Romanians – various surveys cited by the press estimate about 70 percent – favoured the government policy that placed accession to the EU as its number one goal. Those few political critics of accession came from the ranks of the Romanian Social Democrats. They were sulking because President Traian Basescu, a liberal-conservative Democrat, and Prime Minister Calin Tariceanu of the National Liberal Party, accepted all the praise for the accession, while they themselves sat with the opposition.

As Social Democrat Mihai Tanasescu – former finance minister and now on the bench with the opposition – prophesied on 12 December in Jurnalul National: "Many people are still optimistic. But because the government has no plan in the works for the post-entry phase, that optimism will turn into disappointment; the trust in integration will be shaken."

Communist Past

Romania, too, has concerns related to the communist past. A scandal erupted in the Parliament on December 18thwhen President Traian Basecu presented a report evaluating the country's communist era. It suggested that active politicians like former president Ion Iliescu or the nationalist Corneliu Vadim Tudor are responsible for having supported an "illegitimate and criminal regime." In response came vulgar remarks from supporters of the accused.

Finally, everyday politics in Romania overshadow the long path toward the EU: Four weeks before accession, the government coalition collapsed, though not over Europe-related matters. The Conservatives dropped out of the four-party coalition. "We feel duty bound to guarantee political stability," said Prime Minister Tariceanu. Thus the elections of 2008 will probably be postponed for a year. Even so, Romanians must elect their representative to the European parliament in 2007.

Carrying these old, festering sins in their packs, Bulgaria and Romania are not getting any closer to the turn of an era, despite entering the EU, many intellectuals in both countries say.

Jutta Sommerbauer

Jutta Sommerbauer is a freelance journalist in Sofia. She reports regularly on Bulgaria for German language media including the correspondent network n-ost, Context XXI and ...
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Katharina Lötzsch

Katharina Lötzsch works as a freelance journalist in Bucharest. She is also currently conducting academic research on Romania's accession to the EU.
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Further articles on the subject » EU Enlargement / Neighbourhood Policy, » EU Policy, » South East Europe, » Romania, » Bulgaria
More from the press review on the subject » EU Enlargement / Neighbourhood Policy, » EU Policy, » South East Europe, » Romania, » Bulgaria