News from Bulgaria / Dec 11, 95

From: bulgaria@access1.digex.net (Embassy of Bulgaria)

Bulgarian Telegraph Agency Directory

EMBASSY OF BULGARIA - WASHINDTON, D.C.

BTA - BULGARIAN TELEGRAPH AGENCY

BULLETIN OF NEWS FROM BULGARIA

CONTENTS

[01] PRESIDENT ZHELEV IN ALBANIA

Sofia, December 8 (BTA) - Bulgarian President Zhelyu Zhelev this morning met Albanian Prime Minister Aleksander Meksi, a Bulgarian National Radio special correspondent reported from Tirana in a radio newscast today. Dr. Zhelev arrived on a 24-hour official visit to Albania yesterday. In the first day of his visit he conferred with his Albanian counterpart Sali Berisha. This radio correspondent said Dr. Zhelev's meeting with Meksi focused on economic issues. The Albanian Prime Minister reportedly briefed the guest on the economic situation in Albania. The two also discussed an initiative for the setting up of a Balkan Centre for Economic Research for which the US government offered assistance. The two leaders were unanimous that Bulgaria and Albania should promote bilateral cooperation at all levels. Later today Dr. Zhelev met representatives of the Bulgarian community in Albania whose number is set at some 40,000 by recent statistics.

[02] BULGARIAN PRESIDENT ZHELEV BACK FROM

Sofia, December 8 (BTA) - Bulgaria will receive full and unconditional support from Italy for its integration into European structures, Bulgarian President Zhelyu Zhelev said after visiting that country and meeting with President Oscar Luigi Scalfaro, Prime Minister Lamberto Dini and MPs. "This is very important, because Italy will take over the European Union presidency next year," Zhelev said upon his return from the tour, also including the Vatican and Albania. Both Italy and Albania fully support the idea of an East-West transport corridor, the President said. The Italian government is ready to partially finance the project by setting up a special consortium, according to MPs who accompanied Zhelev. The Albanian state leaders reaffirmed their keen interest in the corridor, to span four Balkan countries, according to Zhelev. Zhelev said he was impressed by Albania's achievements in the last two years. It is a result of the coordination of government institutions and the unquestionable consensus on foreign policy, according to him. Pope John Paul II may visit Bulgaria, after receiving an invitation from the Bulgarian President, said MPs on the delegation.

[03] PRESIDENT ZHELEV: INTERVIEW WITH "LA REPUBLICA"

Rome, December 8 (BTA exclusive by Hristo Petrov) - "La Republica" ran an interview with Bulgarian President Zhelyu Zhelev on Friday, headlined "Help! Bulgaria Reverts to the Communists".

"Zhelyu Zhelev is a representative of an endangered species: that of intellectual dissidents in Eastern Europe who fought against the communist regimes and were catapulted to the helm of their country. Now that the euphoria of freedom is over, the political tide is sweeping back into power the successors to the old nomenklatura. Zhelyu Zhelev, who became President in 1990, is alone in a class with Czech President Vaclav Havel. But while Havel lives in a country with a liberal government, in Bulgaria the post-Communists have staged a comeback and are trying to eliminate Zhelev from the presidential contest next year.

"The 58-year-old philosopher has not conceded defeat in advance and will run for re-election. Meanwhile he is travelling around the world to drive home the point that Bulgaria has made a pro-Western choice. This week he talked this over with Scalfaro and Dini in Rome and with the Pope on Thursday.

Q: Mr President, the Communists are back in Bulgaria, too. How's that?

A: It turned out that it is more difficult to effect transition than we imagined. We have found that it is much easier to make a transition from fascism to democracy than from Stalinism to democracy. The transition from communist totalitarianism requires that besides the political superstructure the entire economic base should be replaced, too. Neither Mussolini nor Hitler or Franco did any harm to private ownership. That made the transition to democracy considerably easier. Moreover, maybe we underestimated security. Our first step was to safeguard the freedoms of the individual, of which the mafia and criminal elements took full advantage, while ordinary citizens didn't and are looking back with nostalgia for the low-level security provided by totalitarian regimes.

Q: Does this pattern apply to all former communist countries?

A: Things are so different in these countries that they defy comparison. The fact is that there is a leftward swing due to the hardships of economic transition which led to unemployment, a fall in living standards and lack of security. All this is a reality in the former communist countries.

Q: What if the post-Communists, or rather the Communists, win the upcoming elections in Russia? What effect would their victory have on the complicated situation in Bulgaria?

A: It would not have so direct an impact as some imagine. Since 1989 Bulgaria has become oriented towards the West. It is a member of the Council of Europe, an associate member of the European Union and has applied for full EU membership, and participates in NATO's Partnership for Peace plan. Our future is linked with Europe, the North Atlantic community, democracy and the market economy, which can be found only in the West!

Q: One gets the impression that the old "dissidents" have disappeared.

A: Not at all. They were part of politics for a long time and played an important role. But at this point in time the state needs to be governed by more professional and pragmatic and less ideologically committed people who will solve the real problems of the nation. We do not need dissidents, what we need is competent people."

[04] SLOVAK PRIME MINISTER MECIAR'S VISIT ENDS WITH

Sofia, December 8 (Tanya Tsekova of BTA) - Five Bulgarian- Slovak intergovernmental agreements were signed today before the departure of Slovak Prime Minister Vladimir Meciar who made a two- day official visit to Sofia at the invitation of his counterpart Zhan Videnov. The Slovak delegation included many businessmen, ministers and journalists.

Speaking at a joint press conference the two prime ministers emphasized that the free trade agreement was the most important of the five agreements including those on air transport, cooperation in veterinary medicine and in plant protection, and an agreement between the two ministries of agriculture. Videnov described the free trade agreement as "the first of a series of agreements that would clear Bulgaria's way to traditional and new partners in Central Europe, helping it along the way to full EU membership". The agreement envisages the setting up of a zone for free trade in industrial goods, with tariff barriers being phased out over two years. Most tariffs will be lifted as of January 1, 1996, while the rest will be phased out in three stages by the beginning of 1998. Goods subject to a special export regime will be an exception. The agreement enters into force at the beginning of 1996.

Zhan Videnov said the first visit by the Slovak Prime Minister had been very successful. He said the sides shared an interest in developing communication, transport and energy projects on a European scale since there are economic, historical and geographical links between them. Bulgaria and Slovakia share many problems, they are linked by friendly feelings and a common past and present, and there are few obstacles to bilateral relations, Videnov said.

Vladimir Meciar said the purpose of his visit was to enrich the tradition of Slovak-Bulgarian friendship and bilateral relations and make a step towards the completion of their legal framework. "Next we should sign an agreement on the avoidance of double taxation which, hopefully, will be finalized by the end of 1996," Meciar said.

Our delegation included many entrepreneurs and I am glad to say that each of them found their partner and stimulus for economic cooperation and investment, Meciar said. He said that his talks with Videnov paid special attention to the cooperation within the Central European Free Trade Association (CEFTA), whose 1996 presidency will be held by Slovakia. We shall consider it our mutual success if Bulgaria joins CEFTA in 1996; Slovakia commits itself to support this process to the best of its ability, Meciar said.

The Slovak Prime Minister said also that the two countries' officials discussed the issues related to the European integration and that both countries declared their interest to join NATO as well as to prevent Europe's division into two parts and their view that security should be one and the same for all countries.

Asked to clarify the Bulgarian government's stand on this country's neutrality or integration into NATO, Videnov said that he respects the concept of neutrality but also has a respect for "all other responsible and carefully considered views about the future of the European system for collective security, the views about NATO's internal development, and especially its eastward expansion inclusive". At the same time, however, neither of these ideas has found a clear enough expression so far, has proven itself in practice so that it is yet doubtful whether it will stand the test of time, the new challenges and the coming century, Videnov said.

The Bulgarian government believes that it is NATO that will most likely provide the mainstays of the future system for the collective European security and that a qualitative transformation of all existing security or defence systems will be required at the same time, Videnov said. In his view, this will result in a new reality in which the major European states will have to participate in a most constructive way, while Europe should be viewed upon in the broadest sense from Vancouver to Vladivostok.

Earlier today the Slovak Prime Minister met with National Assembly Chairman Blagovest Sendov and President Zhelyu Zhelev. The meetings discussed the signed bilateral agreements, the progress of the reforms in the two countries and issues of European integration.

[05] BULGARIA, UK TO SIGN AGREEMENT

Sofia, December 8 (BTA) - Bulgarian Foreign Minister Georgi Pirinski will make an official visit to Britain from December 11 to 13, at the invitation of his British counterpart Malcolm Rifkind. During the visit Bulgaria and Britain will sign an agreement on reciprocal investment protection and promotion. Beside Foreign Secretary Rifkind, Pirinski will meet Defence Secretary Michael Portillo, the leader of the parliamentary majority, a minister of state at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, and the shadow parliamentary under- secretary of state for foreign and commonwealth affairs, the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry announced at a regular briefing today. Pirinski will also hold meetings in, and address, the Confederation of British Industry. He will also address the Royal Institute of International Affairs. During his London visit, Pirinski will meet with the Vice Governor of the Bank of England and with the President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development Jacques Larosiere.

[06] BULGARIA TO SEEK INFORMATION ON DETENTION OF

Sofia, December 8 (BTA) - Bulgaria is entitled and intends to officially seek information from the Macedonian side in connection with information received in this country on the detention of Dimiter Crnomarov of Bitola, Vladimir Paunkovski of Ohrid and a number of other public figures, as well as on the statements that Bulgarian books have been taken away from them and from other Macedonian nationals, who were questioned about their connections with Bulgaria, Deputy Foreign Minister Ivan Hristov told journalists here today. Hristov recalled that with its admission to the Council of Europe, which was made possible with this country's support inclusive, the Republic of Macedonia took on concrete commitments in the sphere of human rights. Hristov's statement was prompted by recent reports, according to which "the investigation of the tragic circumstances related to the assassination attempt against Macedonian President Kiro Gligorov is used as a pretext for the exercise of inadmissible forms of pressure on persons, some of whom openly express their Bulgarian identity". "The information we received here on these people's detention for a period of several days with no charges being made causes our deep concern," Hristov said. As early as mid-November, Foreign Ministry Spokesman Radko Vlaikov expressed this country's concern with the arrests, carried out with procedural violations, of Macedonian nationals who identify themselves as Bulgarians. Today Hristov also said that such actions indicate a biased and ill-will-found attitude to Bulgaria and the Bulgarian people, which, to many people in this country, already seems to resemble the anti-Bulgarian campaign of the period before Macedonia's independence. "We would like to believe and remain with the hope that this is not part of a lasting tendency to maintain disputes-ridden climate in the Bulgarian- Macedonian relations, whose upward development is a wish of the peoples of both the Republic of Bulgaria and the Republic of Macedonia, and which is called upon to assist in the strengthening of the stability in this sensitive region. It is high time, we believe, for the things that united us in the past to stop dividing us in the present," Hristov concluded. In his statement he reiterated on several occasions that Bulgaria's foreign policy of the present time is shaped by the recognition of the objective political realities in the Balkan region and that one of the numerous proofs of this approach is the fact that Bulgaria was the first state to recognize Macedonia and since then has consistently followed the line of support and pursuit of promotion of cooperation in the relations between the two countries. "We have always proceeded from the understanding that the independence and territorial integrity of the Republic of Macedonia is an integral part of the balance of stability on the Balkans," Hristov said.

[07] BULGARIA LAGS BEHIND ON ROAD TO EU MEMBERSHIP

Bonn, December 8 (BTA) - Bulgaria failed to catch up with Visegrad Four countries on the road to full membership in the European Union (EU), says a report commissioned by the European Commission. Only Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary have completed the first stage of the reform, followed closely by Slovenia, the study on the integration readiness of the 10 Central and Eastern European EU associated countries says. The comparative study, which was presented before journalists here today, has been drawn for a second time now, with the assistance of the Bertelsmann scientific foundation. The study will be submitted to the EU summit meeting in Madrid next week. The meeting is expected to offer EU's views on a more concrete time schedule for the start of negotiations for full EU membership of the aspiring countries. According to the authors of the study, the negotiations on the Central and Eastern European countries' accession to EU are not likely to start until 1998, while the concrete results will most like come out after 2000. Entitled "Central and Eastern Europe on the Road to EU", the report includes detailed studies of the 10 countries' development from September 1994 to September 1995. The degree of readiness to join the EU is being assessed in accordance with the following criteria: development of democracy and political stability, legal system, foreign policy and security policy, economic reform, social policy and social peace, implementation of the association agreements. The Czech Republic is the leading country in terms of privatization, while with private sector accounting for 27 per cent of the gross domestic product, Bulgaria rates last, the study says. The authors attribute the stagnation of Bulgaria's privatization process to the instable political situation. A more active approach as regards privatization has been observed lately, the study says. The study identifies the following problems: bad debts impeding the restructuring of the banking sector; high inflation, cited as standing at 122 per cent in 1994; 12.4 per cent unemployment; the influx of illegal immigrants from the Third World; the plummeting of agricultural output. The study stresses that the fragmentation of land ownership is an obstacle to modern farming. The ban on joint ventures to buy arable land is said to be counterproductive to the country's serious efforts to create a favourable environment for foreign investment. Bulgaria gets high marks for developments in media pluralism, human and minority rights, as well as for its security policy with a European and Atlantic orientation. The study stresses the stabilization in GDP and the strategy of strict discipline in foreign debt servicing adopted by Videnov's cabinet. The study notes that Bulgaria has a trade surplus. It commends the Bulgarians for being last on the table of economic immigrants to the European Union and for giving the broadest support to the European organizations and their country's membership in them. At the launching of the study it was pointed out that recently Bulgarian Parliament unanimously approved an official application for full EU membership. Special emphasis was placed on the fact that Bulgaria's losses arising from the Yugoembargo amounted to more than half of its foreign debt. It was stressed that the embargo did not allow Bulgaria to reorient its foreign trade to regional and West European markets.

[08] "GEORGI DIMITROV" INTERNATIONAL FOUNDATION

Sofia, December 9 (BTA) - A "Georgi Dimitrov" International Foundation was set up here today on the initiative of the Bulgarian Anti-Fascist Union and the French Association of Anti-Fascist Veterans and War Victims. Co-founders of the foundation are anti- fascist organizations of Germany, Yugoslavia, Russia, Greece, Israel, Portugal and Cuba. The foundation will be based in Sofia. The purpose of the Foundation is to popularize the work of Georgi Dimitrov (1882- 1949) and the ideas of anti-fascism and to educate young people in an anti-fascist spirit, said the Foundation's newly elected chairman Velko Vulkanov, MP of the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP). According to Vulkanov, the Foundation will draw on Bulgaria's anti-fascist past in promoting the national and social awareness of the Bulgarian people and will assist scientific research into anti-fascism. "The idea to set up this foundation was launched a long time ago and we may be somewhat late," Vulkanov said. The foreign guests were received by Prime Minister and BSP leader Zhan Videnov.

[09] PRESIDENT ZHELEV AND PM VIDENOV TO REPRESENT

Sofia, December 9 (BTA) - At the EU summit in Madrid next week Bulgaria will be represented by President Zhelyu Zhelev and Prime Minister Zhan Videnov, presidential spokesman Valentin Stoyanov said. At the conference Prime Minister Videnov is expected to present Bulgaria's official application for full EU membership.

[10] BULGARIAN FOREIGN MINISTER'S OFFICIAL VISIT TO THE UK:

Sofia, December 10 (Iva Toncheva of BTA) - Bulgarian Foreign Minister starts a three-day official visit to Britain on Monday at the invitation of his British counterpart Malcolm Rifkind. The expectations are that this visit will contribute to the further development of bilateral relations. Apart from his talks with Foreign Secretary Rifkind, Pirinski will also meet with Defence Secretary Michael Portillo, with the leader of the parliamentary majority, with one of the ministers of state at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and with the shadow deputy foreign secretary. Pirinski will read a lecture at the Royal Institute of International Affairs and address the Confederation of British Industry. In Britain Pirinski will sign an agreement on reciprocal investment protection and promotion expected to boost British investment in Bulgaria. The two countries signed an agreement on avoiding double taxation seven years ago. Britain is among the top ten foreign investors in Bulgaria. By December 1994 British investment in Bulgaria amounted to USD 23 million. Various projects for production and investment cooperation are under discussion. British business circles are showing interest in investment in Bulgaria but are still cautious because of Bulgaria's imperfect legislation in this field. There is also interest on both sides for more active technological and scientific cooperation. British companies are prospecting for gas and oil in Bulgaria. From January to September 1995 commercial exchange between the two countries amounted to USD 189.3 million, against USD 241 million for 1994. The volume and the structure of commercial exchange does not correspond to the potentials of the economies of the two countries. Both sides are unanimous that the present level of economic and scientific and technological contacts between Bulgaria and Britain is far below the potentials of the two countries. It is generally believed here that there are no open issues between Bulgaria and Britain impeding dialogue between the two countries. President Zhelyu Zhelev visited Britain twice - in 1991 and 1994, and Bulgarian foreign ministers visited Britain in 1992 and 1994. A British Foreign Secretary visited Sofia in 1993.

[11] BULGARIAN GOVERNMENT DELEGATION

Sofia, December 10 (BTA) - A Bulgarian Government delegation, led by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Trade and Foreign Economic Cooperation Kiril Tsochev, left on a two day visit to Belgrade today. This is the first official visit by a Bulgarian government delegation after the lifting of the Yugoembargo. The delegation includes 120 businessmen and senior executives of large state-owned and private companies. The delegation is expected to sign a trade agreement between the two countries. "Trade will be restored," said Kiril Tsochev upon his departure. He said he expects commercial exchange to reach USD 400-500 million within a year.