This was stated by former Deputy Prime Minister Meglena Kuneva in the program "Bulgaria, Europe and the World in Focus", quoted by dariknews.bg.
The topic is on the agenda after a meeting in Brussels of the finance ministers of the six largest economies in the EU, who are discussing opportunities for a group of countries to deepen their cooperation, even in the absence of unanimity among all 27 members.
According to Kuneva, Europe is already faced with the need to act faster, as the economic indicators of the union lag behind other global economies.
"I would not say that there is reason to believe that this idea will go away. The European Union needs to hurry because the economic comparison with other regions is not in its favor". According to her, the mechanism for enhanced cooperation already exists in the European treaties and allows at least nine countries to advance together in certain policies without being blocked by the veto of the others.
Kuneva emphasized that in Bulgaria there is no real public and political debate about the country's place in these processes, and European topics are often reduced only to the issue of the absorption of funds.
"All this news in Bulgaria is a bit like a secular chronicle - something happens somewhere, we note it and move on, without a real political debate". She pointed out that the country has serious problems with the development of capital markets, administration and competitiveness, which calls into question our readiness to engage in closer European cooperation.
According to her, one of the key issues is what Bulgaria will do to develop its capital market, since this is among the main priorities of European economic reforms. Kuneva noted that the problem is not only Bulgarian, but affects the whole of Europe, which is losing ground to China and other economies.
"Europe's competitiveness is weak, and the trade imbalance with China continues to increase. And this problem is absent from our internal discussion".
According to her, Bulgaria also suffers from a serious imbalance between imports and exports, as well as from weak industrial and agricultural production. The former European Commissioner also criticized the lack of strategic thinking in Bulgarian politics, as well as the absence of serious conversation on economic topics.
"There is no way that politics cannot be intellectual. Without vision and knowledge, there is no way to take responsibility."
According to her, the country rarely prepares serious positions on European issues, and ministers often travel to European meetings without a clear national strategy supported by public discussion.
Kuneva emphasized that the process does not divide Europe into old and new members, citing Poland as an example, which is already among the leading economies in the region.
"This is not about a division between Eastern and Western Europe. The question is which countries have economic strength and a clear position".
She warned that the biggest risk for Bulgaria is not the wrong decisions, but the lack of decisions.
"It is better to make a mistake than to fail to make a decision. If you simply do nothing, this creates irreparable consequences".