It is time for the Bulgarian government to clarify its positions on the Ukrainian and other pan-European issues, because it is moving further and further away from the consensus in Europe, believes political scientist Vladimir Shopov.
"From everything we have seen so far, Bulgaria is starting to move away from the European consensus," Shopov commented after our country's refusal to participate in the "Coalition of the Willing" and the threat of a veto in defense of the Russian patriarch.
In his words, the approach of advocating one position abroad and a completely different rhetoric in domestic politics does not work when you are already at the head of the executive branch.
"The absence of a clear, principled basis on which foreign policy is based can be very difficult to mask in this constant tsunami of events," Shopov said on the program "Saturday 150" under the "Horizon" program.
He explained what the "anti-missile coalition", formed in Paris at the beginning of the week without Bulgarian participation, consists of.
"Politicians in Bulgaria did not want to explain what exactly this coalition will be dealing with, but it will deal with the further development and improvement of a large missile defense system, on which the Ukrainians have been working for at least several months. The "Freya" platform is accepted in the medium term as one of the systems compatible and used by NATO. The question remains open whether this is in the Bulgarian national interest."
With the 21st sanctions package against the Russian Federation, currently being discussed between European governments, an attempt is being made for a more systematic approach to tightening the loopholes in the sanctions regime, explained Vladimir Shopov.
"There is a transition from sanctioning specific vessels (long lists, to which the names of individual tankers are constantly added) to sanctioning the entire ecosystem that serves this industry. This package will now include service ports, refineries, airports, financial and insurance services."