„It is time for Bulgaria and Romania to start acting on a larger scale and to look more to the future. We continue to see the Danube not as a river that connects us, but as a periphery that divides us. That is where a large part of the problem with joint initiatives comes from. We should not seek funding piece by piece, but together propose a strategic concept for the development of the Lower Danube.“ This was stated by Bulgarian MEP Christian Vigenin during the international conference „Common River, Common Security“ in Ruse.
The forum was organized by the Sofia and Bucharest offices of the „Friedrich Ebert“Stiftung“ on the occasion of Danube Day and brought together representatives of institutions, diplomats, politicians, experts and the academic community from Bulgaria and Romania on board a ship in Ruse. The discussion was dedicated to the strategic importance of the Lower Danube for security, connectivity, economic development and European sustainability.
According to Vigenin, the moment is particularly appropriate for such a conversation, because the Danube and the Black Sea are gaining increasingly important importance for European security. „With the future enlargement of the European Union, the Black Sea will almost become an internal sea of the Union. We must also take this into account“, he emphasized.
The MEP pointed out that despite decades of talks, Bulgaria and Romania continue to lag behind in the implementation of joint infrastructure projects. “It is truly inexplicable how for so many years we have failed to implement serious infrastructure projects together along the Danube. Yes, we do many things together, but when it comes to large projects, nothing can happen. As if now is the time to reverse this trend“, he emphasized to the audience.
In his words, the active debate on the next seven-year budget of the European Union opens up an opportunity for Bulgaria and Romania to come up with a common strategic vision for the region. “The discussion is not only about what funds will be allocated, but what will be the future of Europe's competitiveness and security. Our two countries can fit very well into this conversation - not only as consumers of ideas, but as countries that together propose a strategic project for the Lower Danube“, Vigenin recommended.
He called on the two countries to look beyond traditional infrastructure projects and jointly plan the future digital infrastructure of the region: “We are still talking mainly about railways and bridges, and it seems that we have no time left to see how quickly the future is coming: artificial intelligence, data centers, new digital infrastructure. As they say, the cable goes with the road. We do not have enough roads yet, but we must also think about the cable.“
Vigenin recalled that the delegation of the Bulgarian socialists in the European Parliament has its office in Ruse precisely because of the strategic importance of the Danube. He highlighted the idea that he had already presented at the University of Ruse - the Danube should be considered as a technological highway along which the new digital infrastructure of Europe could be developed. “Why, for example, not propose a large European data center, which would be a joint project of Bulgaria and Romania? Currently, the infrastructure for artificial intelligence is mainly developed in Western Europe and will continue to develop there if we do nothing“, defined the working approach Vigenin. According to the MEP, the future of the region requires more ambitious thinking and overcoming national egoism.
In conclusion, Vigenin stressed that the good cooperation between the Bulgarian and Romanian socialists in the European Parliament should be transferred to the intergovernmental level. “Without active work between governments, we will not succeed. Otherwise, we will remain a lagging region, in which things will only happen when it is in the interest of the large Western European countries. This trend must be reversed“, believes Christian Vigenin.
For contact with the Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the EP: https://www.socialistsanddemocrats.eu/
