Ekaterina Zaharieva at the Dubrovnik Forum: the Balkans have undergone a sea change in 20 years, but we must fight for democracy day in, day out
01 September 2018 News
‘Within two decades, the Balkans have sustained radical change and we continue along the road towards Euro-Atlantic integration, but we should never forget that we must uphold our democratic values on a daily basis.’
With these words Ekaterina Zaharieva, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria, addressed the participants in the 13th edition of the Dubrovnik Forum, one of the most prestigious platforms for exchange of views among diplomats and politicians in the region. This year’s meeting took place under the motto ‘Strengthening sustainability’, while the range of subjects discussed by the participants covered challenges to the region, connectivity and counteracting fake news.
In her address to the meeting, Ms. Zaharieva reminded the audience that within two decades, four countries in the region have become full members of the EU, two have acquired candidate member status and are negotiating their membership, and another two have received the greenlight to start negotiations. Meanwhile, Kosovo will soon enjoy visa liberalization, while Bosnia and Herzegovina has replied to the EC questionnaire and is making headway towards its own candidate status.
Bulgaria’s top diplomat cited as an example the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Good Neighborly Relations between Bulgaria and the republic of Macedonia: ‘In a mere five months since its signing, bilateral trade has grown by 12 percent, and the number of tourists between our countries, by 10 percent.’ She congratulated her counterparts, Nikola Dimitrov of Macedonia and Nikos Kotzias of Greece, on securing the agreement on the name of Macedonia, and wished the Skopje referendum success.
‘We achieved all this because we all want to be part of the most democratic alliance in the world, but we shouldn’t forget that democracy is something we must fight for, day in, day out,’ Zaharieva pointed out.
Radmila Sekerinska, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense of Macedonia, seconded Zaharieva’s words. ‘I fully agree with Ekaterina: while we faced a lot of initial criticism over our treaty with Bulgaria, now the citizens of both countries believe that it is a guarantee of stability. There are no frozen conflicts, just frozen solutions’, Sekerinska told the audience.
Gordan Jandroković, President of the Parliament of Croatia, congratulated ‘our Bulgarian friends’ on their accomplishments during the Presidency with respect to the Western Balkans.
In his turn Michel Barnier, the chief Brexit negotiator on behalf of the EU, called upon the participants to adhere to the motto of the Bulgarian Presidency of the council of the EU: ‘Together We Stand Strong’.
In her address to the forum, Ekaterina Zaharieva stressed the connectivity of the Balkans as something that the citizens and business communities of the countries in the region demand.
Speaking about fake news, she underscored that these should be counteracted by educating the audiences, as today information is ubiquitous but sometimes the very fact of its universal accessibility can, from an asset of democracy, become a threat to it, as we quite often bear witness to attempts to manipulate public opinion.
Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković raised the issue of migration and appealed to the participants in the forum that decisions be adopted in balance between national interests and solidarity.
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