"The Lisbon treaty would give Brussels more control over Bulgaria's unconsolidated democracy" says Boris Stanimirov of the Blue coalition

Boris Stanimirov was born in 1976 in Sofia, Bulgaria. He holds a Bachelor degree in molecular biology for the University of Sofia. Specialized in political science in the New Bulgarian University. Boris Stanimirov is vice-president of the European Young Conservatives under the patronage of Margaret Thatcher. Speaks four languages. Married with two kids – a boy and a girl.

Q: What direction should the EU take - towards United States of Europe or towards Europe of the Nations?

A: As far as the federalist project for Europe is connected to the Lisbon treaty, this is the vision that benefits Bulgaria more. Because on one side it gives Bulgaria more seats in the European Parliament and on the other - gives Brussels more control over Bulgaria's unconsolidated democracy. It has to be mentioned though, that Europe of the Nations also has good sides.

Q: What’s your opinion on the issue of enlargement? Should the Western Balkans and Turkey join the union and when?

A: The important topics for Bulgaria regarding enlargement concern Macedonia and Turkey. Turkey is quite big in terms of size and population. If she does not meet the membership standards she can destabilize the whole European Union. If small Bulgaria simply scandalized Europe with some internal problems then 70-million Turkey could destabilize and literally torpedo the European institutions. As far as Macedonia is concerned, Bulgaria was the first country to recognize its independence. I hope Bulgaria will also be the first to welcome Macedonia as a new EU member as soon as the country settles the disputes with its neighbors and adopts a truly European position towards Bulgaria.

Q: What should be the priorities of the Bulgarian membership in the EU?

A: Unfortunately, the first priority should be the restoration of trust in Bulgaria which was forfeited. Then the unfreezing of European funds for the country - almost 6 bn. Euros until 2013. Our ambition is to make that happen by the end of the year.

Q: What would be your personal priorities if you would become a Bulgarian representative in the European Parliament?

A: My personal priority would be that Bulgaria becomes home of all ethnic Bulgarians in the world. There are traditional Bulgarian communities in Macedonia, Serbia, Ukraine and Moldova which should have their European perspective. They should feel the support of European Bulgaria. That's our national ideal and a legacy of our ancestors. Bulgaria has never had an instrument to fulfill it as its European membership now.

Boris Stanimirov is seventh on the Blue Coalition’s list for the European Parliament elections.

P.S. The interview has been made with the assistance of the Bulgarian National Television.

Domestic heavyweights enter election battle

The deadline for registering party lists for the European elections in Bulgaria passed this Friday (May 15th). Some of the major parties waited to the last moment before announcing their candidates, obviously hoping to surprise their opponents. Some surprises did occur, especially regarding the names of the people leading the lists.

With the Bulgarian parliamentary elections coming up in less than two months (to be held on July 5th), Bulgarian parties are eager to prove themselves on the European elections and thus further motivate their electorate for the national vote. That led to the introduction of some "domestic heavyweights" in the electoral battle.

The biggest surprise was the appearance of the Bulgarian foreign minister Ivaylo Kalfin on the No.1 spot in the list of the Socialist Party.


Mr. Kalfin is not even a member of the Socialist party which sparked some internal debate among party officials but since he enjoyed the backing of the current prime minister (and party leader) his candidacy was officially announced on Friday. Ivaylo Kalfin has a background in international economic relations and international banking before becoming an MP in 1994, presidential advisor in 2002 and subsequently - foreign minister in 2005.

Not so surprisingly came another high-profile candidacy - that of the present European commissioner Meglena Kuneva.


Ms. Kuneva's name was mentioned as a possible top-candidate of the list of the Bulgarian liberals for quite some time and the party made it official ahead of the registration deadline. Nicknamed “Ms. Yes” during Bulgaria’s accession negotiations with the EU, she became a Commissioner in 2007 when the country finally joined the union. Commisionner of the Year in 2008. Rumor has it she will not become an MEP even if elected but give way to the next in the party list. Her chances of retaining the commissioner post are rather slim as the party that backs her - NDSV has a quite low electoral support of 2-6% of the people.

The center-right "Blue coalition" is also fielding a prominent figure - the former foreign minister Nadejda Mihaylova.


Ms. Mihaylova was Bulgarian foreign minister between 1997 and 2001. During that period she had to handle the Kosovo conflict and the start of the Bulgarian negotiations for EU accession. Vice-president of the European People's Party between 1999 and 2006. The polls predict the "Blue coalition" could claim one or two of the 17 Bulgarian seats in the EP so she would most probably continue her political carrier as an MEP.

The other parties chose not to field their best soldiers in this battle and keep them for the national vote or simply were not able to find such candidates. The populist GERB (now with 5 MEPs) and the Turkish-minority party DPS ( with 4) chose sitting MEPs to head their lists.



GERB's Rumyana Zheleva has been connected to the post of future European commissioner for quite some time now, although no official statement on the topic has been released by the party. Ms. Zheleva has been in the consultancy sector before becoming an MEP in 2007.

The overall look of the candidates shows that Bulgarian parties take these elections more seriosly than the first time when Bulgaria had to elect its MEPs in 2007. Two years ago the top candidates were mostly young party officials, now we see an acting and former foreign minister, accompanied by a European commissioner. The main reason behind that is most probably the fact that everybody (voters, parties, experts) see the European elections merely as a first round to the national ones. Understandably all actors want to do well. In any case the higher profile of candidates and the increased politicization of society should result in a higher turnout. Due to the two year work of current MEPs Bulgarian society is slightly more informed about what the European Parliament is about. In this sense these elections will be more European and should produce a more legitimate result than the 2007 ones.