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Anastasia Balezdrova

Nadezhda Neynsky is the leader of the “Blue Unity” party and an MEP from the European People's Party. She was Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria in the period 1997 - 2001 and her name is associated with the fall of the visa regime for Bulgarian citizens. By profession, she is a translator of Spanish poetry and English literature. Between 1991 and 1993, she was a spokesperson and headed the press centre of the government of Philip Dimitrov.

GRReporter met Nadezhda Neynsky in Athens, where she attended the conference Athens Forum Go for Democracy. Anastasia Balezdrova talked to her.

Mrs Neynsky, do you think that centrifugal forces in Europe will outweigh centripetal forces after the next elections for members of the European Parliament?

This is difficult to predict, but I think that centripetal forces will be stronger, since these are the forces of common sense. The easiest thing for Europe is to disperse. But this is not a solution. And maybe even those who advocate this do not believe in its consistency. To the contrary, they are even convinced that this will not give the desired result.

We can make all kinds of emotional statements. For example, we can say that if something like this happens, it will mean that the dream of the founders of united Europe will be betrayed - the dream of Schuman, de Gasperi, and Adenauer, who managed to unite post-war Europe and motivate a common effort.

I think that disintegration begins where there is little motivation. And little motivation is usually an expression of the fact that leaders are not able to motivate people for the greatest effort. Ultimately, leadership is precisely this. If people who are elected to lead their countries lack the vision, strategy, and most importantly - the courage - to go all the way, they always seek refuge in the trenches of the easiest solutions. And nationalism begins where the easiest solutions lie. We are in Athens talking about division, which is perhaps the most dangerous word in the Balkans, since the history of the Balkans is a history of division. In all cases, the word "Balkans" is always associated with wars and divisions. Therefore, at the conference, I insisted that we must reinstate the self-confidence of the word "Balkans". This is a region which is more popular with divisions, but it is also a region from which civilization actually started. We have to try to turn what was once a flaw into a huge advantage, since in the new century, the new conditions of communication, open information spaces, open markets, free movement of people, and the fact that we are located in precisely such a place in Europe, which could actually become a really valuable source of prosperity for nations if there is strategic thinking. In this sense, I believe that common sense and motivation will prevail.

It is a fact that the European elections generally take place with a low voter turnout. Do you think that this will happen now as well, and more importantly, how could young people be motivated to vote?

Again - leadership, leadership, leadership. Young people cannot be motivated only by programmes, speeches and even by political events such as this conference (Athens Forum Go for Democracy, 6-7 February in Athens – author’s note). They can only be motivated when they see the meaning of efforts and the meaning of their participation in politics.

In fact, what Europe has recognized as a major problem in recent years is the divergence of political elites from people. And the gap which has occurred has allowed populists and nationalists to fill it. And this is very dangerous. Therefore young people, and not only them, can be motivated only when Europe finds the right language and when it manages to explain its policy and, most importantly, when it is able to show the public that it has learned from its mistakes.

Europe's double standards have been one of the biggest mistakes over the years. As a foreign minister, I used to always motivate my people to go all the way, making efforts and enduring hardship, and I always used to say that Europe means rules, law and order. But we all know that there are many cases of double standards and ignoring real dangers. However, the inability to address psychological problems, worries and fears among people has created the greatest “monsters” in European history. Therefore, I would like to express hope that during the campaign Europe will send a signal that it is aware of the path and has the courage to go all the way and its mistakes will teach it a lesson.

What is your attitude to proposals by Guy Ferhovstad, Massimo D'Alema and other politicians that citizens should vote directly for parties which are represented in the European Parliament, and that the president of the European Commission should be elected by the largest parliamentary group in order for citizens to be indirectly involved in this choice? Ferhovstad even proposed that we should pay taxes directly to Europe in order to strengthen the link between citizens and European institutions. What do you think of these suggestions?