Bulgaria-bashers, take note: European Union ambassadors in Sofia have written to Prime Minister Boiko Borissov congratulating action taken by the Government against organised crime and corruption.

There’s a headline much different from those to which we all have become accustomed in the past decade, before and after EU accession, about voices from Brussels lambasting Sofia about inaction against these scourges.

Of course, the letter had a caveat, saying that if there was no follow-through, this would be pointed out. It is certain that we can count on that.
Reports and speculation in Bulgaria have suggested that the United States – which through its own ambassador has praised Operation Octopus – and the EU may have lent a discreet guiding hand in the recent actions. If that is true, there is hardly anything sinister in it.

It may also be true that Bulgaria’s friends in the West see, at the current juncture, an opportunity to help diminish deleterious influences in this country such as organised crime groups that could have links to Russia. Hardly anything sinister in that, either.

The current Government is arguably the most pro-Western that this country has seen for some time, and perhaps best-placed to act effectively against crime and corruption. It is obvious to point out that it has a vested interest in doing so, not only to show that it has received and understood the messages from Brussels and Washington, but also to seek to gain credibility in terms of the business environment as Bulgaria struggles towards building a place as an investment destination that can be taken seriously, and thus aid much-needed economic recovery.