Fireworks and laser lights lit the midnight skies over Bulgaria as the country celebrated its entry into the European Union, but celebrations were tempered by some of the realities of the new year and new era.
President Georgi Purvanov said that Bulgaria’s EU accession was a “heavenly moment” and Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev called it a “dream come true”, while European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said that Bulgaria and Romania joining the EU meant that “our culture, our heritage, will be richer, our mutual ties and our economy will be boosted”.
However, as January 1 2007 dawned, few Bulgarians could not have been mindful that there were limits to the opportunities flowing from the country’s hard-won accession. Only nine of the other member states are offering unfettered access to their labour markets.
Some Bulgarian food exports are limited, Bulgarian air carriers are not being categorised as EU community carriers, and the country’s energy capabilities took a blow with the shutdown – as provided for in Bulgaria’s agreement with the EU – of two units of the Kozloduy nuclear power station.
As denoted by the lapel ribbons worn by most of the country’s leaders and many of its citizens in solidarity with the medics in Libya sentenced to death, the question mark over the future of the nurses preoccupied many Bulgarians. Among many international voices who joined the “You Are Not Alone” campaign in support of the medics, European Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn said: “You have our full support. You are not alone. You are with the European Union”.
Foreign media coverage of Bulgaria’s EU accession was mixed, with the UK’s The Independent saying it was a “moment for celebration”, adding that Bulgaria and Romania were small but fast-growing economies, and the whole of Europe would benefit materially from their inclusion and the extension of the single market. The reception among newspapers such as The Sun was hostile. Few media reports did not point out that Bulgaria and Romania were the EU’s poorest members.
The new year began with price increases, including on fuels, but also with optimistic economic growth forecasts, ranging from the Finance Ministry’s 5.8 per cent to ING Bank’s and Bulgaria’s Institute for Market Economics’ 6.5 per cent. There was also optimism about the boost that EU accession would mean for Bulgaria’s property market. The Invest Bulgaria Agency said that it expected that the final figures for foreign direct investment (FDI) in 2006 would add up to about four billion euro, and it had a positive outlook for FDI in 2007.
