Transatlantic Politics

An EU member from January 1st, Bulgaria is preparing now for their first elections for the European Parliament, to be held on May 20. Here is what their right-wing party leader and former Prime Minister Ivan Kostov is warning about:

"We need MEPs who know how to read and understand Bulgaria’s interests, unlike what we have witnessed for the last six years. We need MEPs, who will not turn Bulgaria into Russia’s Trojan horse in the European Parliament. "

Bulgaria’s socialist government has tempered down the pro-NATO, pro-EU orientation of the previous leadership under the former king Simeon. Mafia gangs with strong connections to the Russian ones are still a huge problem for a largely unreformed justice system, where no high ranking official has yet been put on trial for corruption and/or organized crime. For instance, the most famous weapon dealer in the world, Viktor Bout, a former (or still?) KGB operative has had most of his weapon-deliveries to Africa made via Bulgaria.

Viktor Bout’s name is regularly linked with Bulgaria in connection with the deals he makes with Bulgaria-manufactured weapons. There was significant space devoted to Mr Bout in the 2000 UN Security Council report in connection with suspicions that he had supplied weapons for the Angolan grouping UNITA instead of for the officially declared end client - Togo. In the same report, Bulgaria was accused that it did not adhere to UN-imposed embargo resolutions. Later, Bulgaria was exonerated of these allegations. The investigation, however, showed that counterfeit documents were used, which declared an end client. These documents were made from original copies of a legal arms shipment to Togo.

With all the pressure from the EU to reform and "put the mafia bosses behind bars", as Justice Commissioner Franco Frattini was saying  yesterday in Sofia, Bulgaria seems to be counting on a powerful friend in the East much more than on the bureaucrats in Brussels. A Trojan horse for Russia?On the energy field, this might already be happening..A few days ago, Russia, Bulgaria and Greece (what a surprise..) signed a pipeline-agreement that basically blows up the recent efforts of the EU to get a strategy implemented that will reduce its dependency on Russia. But since Turkey’s deal with Georgia and Azerbaijan bypasses Russia and Greece signed a deal for a pipeline with Turkey, the Kremlin thought to reactivate its good comrades in Bulgaria and try to get the pipeline done before the Turks. Construction will begin next year and is scheduled to last 3 years. The Russian companies Rosneft, Transneft, and Gazprom will share a 51-percent stake in the venture, leaving Greece and Bulgaria with 24.5 percent each. The pipeline project’s estimated cost is $1.2 billion.
Russia has no interest whatsoever in a common EU energy policy that would reduce its dependency and thus promotes one-to-one-deals-you-can’t-refuse with its member countries. Most famous case: former German chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, a buddy-buddy of Putin signed a pipeline deal just days before the 2005 German elections (when Angela Merkel got elected), linking Northern Germany directly to Russia through a pipeline under the Baltic Sea. Three months later, Schroeder accepted a job with the Gazprom..

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