06.10.2023
Bulgaria’s Prime Minister hopes that by 6 December the Netherlands
and Austria will lift their veto against his country’s accession to Schengen
Interview of Adelheid Wölfl with Prime Minister Acad. Nikolai Denkov for the Austrian newspaper Der Standard before his visit to Vienna on 24 October 2023
After years of instability, since June, Bulgaria again has a regularly elected government, which represents a kind of broad coalition. Prime Minister Nikolai Denkov who is a Liberal wants, first and foremost, to rid the Judiciary of political influence and to achieve his country’s accession to the Schengen area. However, the Netherlands and Austria would have to lift their veto to let the accession.
STANDARD: What judicial reforms are you making to make the Judiciary more independent and to make the Dutch government give up its veto against Bulgaria's Schengen accession?
Denkov: We are making the reforms exclusively because we want to improve the judicial system in Bulgaria, so not to please one or the other. Last week, we already improved the anti-corruption law in Parliament. Secondly, it is about increasing and improving the control over the Prosecutor General. Because of weaknesses in this area, a number of decisions were taken against Bulgaria by the European Court of Justice. Thirdly, it is about the composition and procedure for electing members of the Judiciary. Previously, it was relatively easy to influence them politically, but the changes now aim to reduce the political influence on judges as much as possible. Some of these reforms require constitutional amendments and we want to be done with that by the end of the year.
STANDARD: There is currently good cooperation within the government between your party "We Continue the Change" and GERB. Understandably, resistance is to be expected if GERB's old networks are touched. What does the government have to do to satisfy you?
Denkov: So if we succeed in making all these changes in the Constitution and the laws, that would already be a considerable achievement. All the parties that back the cabinet support that. So, so far, everything is going according to the agenda that was drafted at the beginning of the government cooperation. And I don't see any signs that anyone wants to stop doing that.
STANDARD: Do you expect the Netherlands to give up its veto if the judicial reform is implemented by the EU summit on 6 December?
Denkov: I can't speak on behalf of others, but the Netherlands has always focused on the Bulgarian judicial system and clearly defined the weak points and the changes to them that it wants to see. It is also about following the recommendations of the EU Commission. That is exactly what we are doing and that is why I expect a very positive confirmation from the EU Commission. Then the Netherlands will no longer have any arguments at all against Bulgaria joining the Schengen zone. If we can refute these countries’ arguments, I don't see how the Netherlands or Austria could defend their opposition to Bulgaria's accession.
STANDARD: How do you want to convince the Austrian government? It has argued that there is too much migration towards Central Europe.
Denkov: We are very active in border control. This year alone we have stopped about 150,000 attempts to cross the border illegally. In addition, we work very energetically against the traffickers – that is an international network. More than 2000* illegal migrants have been arrested in Bulgaria, otherwise they would be somewhere else in Europe. According to the statistics, less than two percent of migrants come through Bulgaria or Romania via the so-called Eastern route.
STANDARD: Nevertheless, the Austrian government has vetoed the decision.
Denkov: We are convinced that Austria will benefit considerably if Bulgaria and Romania are in the Schengen area. Because at the moment there is an absolutely unnecessary border control between Bulgaria and Greece and between Bulgaria and Romania. Although there are no significant crossings, 1500 officers patrol there, who could otherwise be transferred to the Bulgarian-Turkish and Bulgarian-Serbian borders. Austria was the first EU state to call for tighter control of the external borders. If Bulgaria and Romania are within Schengen, this could be done much more efficiently. In any case, concentrating on the internal borders does not help to protect the external borders as efficiently as possible. We are also prepared to invite patrols from Austria, Germany and the Netherlands. Everyone is welcome to come and see how we protect the border and even advise us. There should also be more investment in technology and technical assistance at the external borders.
STANDARD: What are the economic consequences of Austria's Schengen veto?
Denkov: All European countries, including Bulgaria and Austria, are struggling with high inflation and high food prices. Food gets stuck at the border between Bulgaria and Romania and Romania and Hungary for several days because we are not in the Schengen area, and that costs money. Removing these artificial borders would reduce transport costs and thus reduce the price of food and inflation. There is a significant export of food from Bulgaria via Romania to EU countries farther in the west. Air pollution by trucks lining at the borders is likewise a problem. Austria is also one of the most important investors in Bulgaria. The Austrian Chamber of Commerce wants to develop this further, but the fact that we are not in the Schengen area causes some difficulties for businesses. Bulgaria's accession to the Schengen area would also support the integration of the Western Balkans.
STANDARD: How so?
Denkov: The current Bulgarian government is very pro-European. And we want it to remain so. We want to solve our internal problems, but we also want to be recognized as an equal partner of the other Western countries. But we have a very strong opposition in Bulgaria that wants something different and looks to the East. If we do our homework and still can't join the Schengen area and the Eurozone, that would fuel this opposition. They would say, "Whatever is recommended by the West, it doesn't see us as equal." That would not only benefit the Kremlin-friendly opposition here, but also the similar forces in the Republic of North Macedonia and in Serbia. All this shows that there is a larger very important struggle for the European future of the Balkans.
STANDARD: Austria is highly dependent on Russian gas. A gas pipeline for non-Russian gas is currently being built through Bulgaria in the direction of Serbia, it comes from Greece. Could Austria also benefit from this in order to become less dependent on Russian gas?
Denkov: Yes, because with the gas from Greece there are options for a significant increase in capacity. We would like to discuss with Austria how interested it would be in such a transport and how it sees the future of these gas transport systems in the coming years.
STANDARD: Due to a demand by Bulgaria, the Republic of North Macedonia has to include the Bulgarian ethnic group in the Constitution so that it can start EU negotiations. There may not be enough votes in the Macedonian Parliament for this. How can you help the Republic of North Macedonia so that it can finally start EU negotiations?
Denkov: It would be very easy to escalate the debate between societies and between politicians. But we are avoiding that. However, if the citizens of the Republic of North Macedonia want to be Europeans, they have to do what has been agreed with the EU Commission. For instance, we joined forces with our main political rival to form a pro-European government. I don't think it's impossible, but if the main interest is to fight for election results, then of course it's not possible.
STANDARD: The former Bulgarian Prime Minister Kiril Petkov said that the bad relations between the Republic of North Macedonia and Bulgaria are due to Russia's influence. Is there such an influence in the Western Balkans as well? A Serbian militia recently carried out a terrorist attack against the Kosovar police.
Denkov: The situation between Kosovo and Serbia reminds me of a saying that is more than 100 years old, that the Balkans themselves are like a powder keg. Any incident can have much more significant consequences. Therefore, we should really be extremely careful.
STANDARD: There is also the proverb: "What starts in the Balkans does not just stay in the Balkans."
Denkov: That has a very similar meaning. This is because several powers are trying to expand their influence in the Balkans. We are here at the crossroads between Asia Minor and Russia and the powers of Europe. We must therefore be very strong in our values. If we do not adhere to European priciples, the rule of law and international law as defined by the United Nations, then wars can start again. The only way to prevent this is to draw on the experience that the Western European countries have shown the world. If peace and cooperation between France and Germany is possible, it can be possible anywhere, but we must abide by these rules that we have.
STANDARD: What should be done if a state does not play by the rules?
Denkov: Then that country should be isolated from the others. We can see this in the example of Russia. It is quite clear that Russia is the aggressor. Ukraine is defending its people. Ukraine is not only concerned with territory, it is concerned with families, children and everything that is being destroyed there.
STANDARD: Should sanctions be imposed on Serbia?
Denkov: Serbia is trying to sit on several chairs. But everybody knows that this cannot last too long. If it wants to be pro-Russian, let it declare that, if it wants to be pro-European, that would be another option. Serbia has to decide that.
STANDARD: Back to Russia's war of aggression. A drone was found in Bulgaria. What will you do to protect Bulgaria from Russian aggression and at the same time show solidarity with Ukraine?
Denkov: It is in Bulgaria's deep interest to help Ukraine in order to keep the war as far away from Bulgaria's borders as possible. So there is no contradiction between these two things, as Russian propaganda tries to suggest. We are already working intensively on improving our defense system, our army, including coastal defense. We are currently building military ships that will be sailing in the Black Sea very soon. It is also about anti-missile systems, we have bought F-16 interceptors and we are in the final stages of the conclusion of a contract for almost 200 military vehicles. For ground forces, we are very quickly building all the necessary elements that have been postponed for many years. We are working hard with our neighbors, such as Romania and Türkiye. Together with Poland we are to be fully integrated into the defense system on the Eastern Flank.
STANDARD: Not only does Russia pose a military threat. Propaganda is being carried out within the framework of hybrid warfare. The Kremlin also has influence with the Bulgarian secret service and there are very many Russian spies here. What measures will you take against this hybrid warfare of the Kremlin?
Denkov: Kremlin propaganda is very strong here for historical and cultural reasons. What we can do, first of all, is to always tell the truth. We need people's trust and therefore we have to use the right arguments. Unfortunately, this is not enough. Because people easily become suspicious as they have been lied to for many, many, many years. The hybrid propaganda is based on emotions so they don't listen to arguments. They don't listen when they are afraid of something or when they are excited. However, people's trust is the only way to get them to listen to what we say. So we need to improve our communication skills here.
As for the spies, last year we had to expel 70 of them. This year we had a special problem with three priests from the so-called Russian Church in Bulgaria. It actually turned out that they were very actively working against the interests of Bulgaria and the Republic of North Macedonia.
I cooperate very, very well with some intelligence agencies. But what we see is that with others there is something like a blind spot when it comes to corruption and to Russian influence. We are still discussing with the heads of the other parties that support the cabinet whether we need to change the law on intelligence services. Some of it would require the President's approval, but there is the strongest opposition from him. I have always tried to work with the President [Rumen Radev, Editor’s Note], but unfortunately I don't see any willingness on his part.
STANDARD: The necessary closure of coal-fired power plants is very often used by pro-Kremlin forces in Bulgaria to manipulate the public. You recently sent a plan to Brussels so that Bulgaria does not lose any more EU money. How do you plan to reduce CO2 emissions?
Denkov: The plan we submitted to Brussels is not about reducing carbon dioxide. We had to propose how to use the investments from European funds, from the state budget and from private investors to develop in the future the region where there are coal-fired power plants now. I am negotiating with the trade unions so that they understand what is written in the paper. These people are working against their own interests today. That's why we as a government are trying to help them develop their region, but they don't understand.
STANDARD: But still Bulgaria has to reduce CO2 emissions.
Denkov: We will reduce it, step by step the production in the coal-fired power plants will be reduced as will be the emission of carbon dioxide. But this change is not happening because someone in Brussels decided to make this or another plan. The change is coming because the electricity market and the technologies for generating electricity are changing very fast. We still need the coal-fired power plants for the coming years because they secure a basic energy need. Last year they were extremely important. But gradually that need will diminish, especially when we build new nuclear power plant units. Unfortunately, the people who are affected by these changes are not ready yet to sit down together, discuss and understand what is coming.
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Nikolai Denkov (age 61) from the anticorruption party “We Continue the Change” will be the Prime Minister until March 2024 when he is to rotate with Mariya Gabriel (GERB). Previously the physicochemist was Minister of Education.
* Figures released by the Ministry of Interior show that over 12,000 illicit migrants in the country were detained since the beginning of this year.
Link to the interview in the original click here
