The year 2006 saw the 11th anniversary of Bulgaria’s application to join the European Union.
History will record 2006 as the final year before the country joined the EU. It was a year of expectations, because it was only in September that Bulgarians got official confirmation that EU accession would happen on January 1 2007. But it was also a year of expectations disappointed, as most EU countries announced that there would not be immediate access to their labour markets – a reverse for any ordinary Bulgarian whose main interest in EU accession was the chance for a better salary elsewhere.
Within Bulgaria, it was also the year of President Georgi Purvanov, who won a second term in office, staving off the challenge of ultra-nationalist Ataka party leader Volen Siderov.
The cost of living went up, unemployment went down, as did inflation, household debt rose as banks competed to lend, the current account deficit grew as imports surged over exports, the first Western-style shopping malls opened, the tourism industry hit a few wobbles because of over-construction in resorts and with the football World Cup keeping German tourists at home, and a number of Bulgarians got new foreign neighbours as the development of the property market continued.
Bulgarians eyed with concern what would happen to energy prices. Russia rumbled about the price of natural gas it supplies to Bulgaria (and Europe as a whole), while the days ticked by towards the shutdown of two units of Bulgaria’s Kozloduy nuclear power plant. Worry grew about the implications of this for the country’s capacity to supply affordable electricity, and to be a regional energy exporter. A deal was signed late in the year on the construction of a nuclear power plant at Belene, but it appeared Bulgarians could be hit in their pockets before the supply from the new plant came onstream.
Given the country’s negative birth rate, there was continuing concern about a demographic crisis and a potential labour market crisis.
In the middle of January 2006, Purvanov convened a meeting of the national security council and proposed two main measures to deal with the potential labour market crisis: in the short-term, Purvanov suggested giving Bulgarian emigrants and expatriates financial incentives to return to the country. For the long-term, he said, there should be an improvement of financial incentives for people to have children. Purvanov said the emphasis should be on investments in education and health, rather than on direct funding for children. Several ministers were drawn into drafting a new strategy for demographic development, which was due at the end of 2006.
Speaking on January 9, Labour and Social Policy Minister Emilia Maslarova said that income, standards of living, education and health were key to encouraging demographic development. Her ministry’s proposals included a consolidation of research on children in Bulgaria, alternative forms of social protection for the needy, and incentives to encourage Bulgarians living outside the country to return.
Also at the very beginning of 2006, the National Revenue Agency (NRA) was launched, taking over most of the functions of the tax administration, including the role of the National Social Security Institute. Its leaders remained optimistic even though on the first day of its operation, the agency’s IT system collapsed and some earlier doubts about its capacity appeared confirmed. From the beginning of 2006, taxes may only be paid by bank transfer.
Against a background of long-standing domestic and foreign concerns about the ineffectiveness of the fight against organised crime and corruption, a new Prosecutor-General took office. Boris Velchev, previously a legal adviser to President Purvanov and a lecturer in criminal law, appeared to inspire new confidence in the Prosecutor-General’s office.
At the end of January 2006, it became clear that the Bulgarian Government was under serious pressure from Purvanov and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to move forward with economic reforms. Purvanov’s report “Convergence and European Funds”, which outlined the threats that the Bulgarian economy was facing, was presented by the President at a conference held in Sofia on January 22 2006. He emphasised that it was of great importance for the country to overcome economic differences and social inequality, and to be able to integrate into the EU as a national economy and into EU models of regional development, administration and policies.
Another vital step towards achieving a better future for Bulgarians was taken on January 24 2006 when Energy Minister Roumen Ovcharov and British ambassador Jeremy Hill opened a Renewable Energy Workshop in Sofia. The EU had flagged renewable energy as a priority issue in order to ensure harmonisation with the EU accession legal framework. The workshop aimed at building partnerships between UK renewable energy companies and organisations in new member states. Bulgarian policy aims to achieve full compliance with the requirements of the Common Energy Market in Europe, develop the sector in a planned way and harmonise with EU standards.
The year 2006 was another good one for Bulgaria’s sports people, notably the new Bulgarian snowboard champion Aleksandra Zhekova and chess Grand Master Vesselin Topalov. Eighteen-year-old Zhekova pulled off an impressive end to the greatest season in her career by clinching the European Cup. In April, she won the last tournament for the season in board cross and went on to first place in the general standing, outrunning her closest competitors for the gold, Julie Lundhold of Denmark and Suzane Mol of Austria.
In May 2006, then-world chess champion Topalov won the biggest chess tournament in Europe, the M-Tel Masters, for the second consecutive year, clinching the title with four victories and 6.5 points. At the award ceremony, Topalov received a gold-plated icon with the image of St. George, painted by eminent artist and iconographer Katya Bazhlekova. The world chess champion received a special award from BBC journalists David Edmonds and John Idenow - their book, called Bobby Fisher Goes to War.
It was also the year when one of Bulgaria’s all-time top tennis players, Magdalena Maleeva, said goodbye to professional tennis with a great show on April 28 at the Winter Palace sports complex in Sofia. Eight world-famous players came to Bulgaria to pay tribute to Maleeva. Her elder sisters Manuela and Katerina took part in the show, together with Martina Hingis, Conchita Martines, Elena Likhovtseva, Natasha Zvereva and Liezel Huber. “Bulgaria versus the World” was the theme of the matches. The show began with doubles, Manuela and Katerina Maleevi versus Conchita Martines and Natasha Zvereva. The Bulgarians lost 3:4 after a dramatic tie-break but that did not dampen the mood in the stands, where almost 4000 spectators applauded the players.
Away from the weightier themes of EU accession and cost of living, the entertainment world in Bulgaria offered its own spectacles. A succession of big-name concerts were played, from Sting to Depeche Mode, while heavy metal fans settled for Helloween after a cancellation by Lordi, the Finnish winners of Eurovision 2006 (who had defeated, among others, Bulgaria’s contestant, Mariana Popova). On television, reality shows slugged it out for the highest ratings, with Nova Television’s third season of Big Brother up against bTV’s first season of Survivor. However – that EU theme again – one of the most watched shows was Bulgarian National Television’s 100 Questions for the European Union, which got the highest ratings for a public affairs programme.
The end of 2006 saw the confirmation of the appointment of Meglena Kouneva, who long had been in the trenches as Bulgaria’s chief negotiator with the EU and then for five years as its European Affairs minister, as the country’s first European commissioner. Kouneva was appointed to Europe’s consumer protection portfolio.
