At the moment, very important talks are taking place in Europe for the next 5 years, in which, unfortunately, Bulgaria is not participating. This was stated by the Deputy Director of the European Council for Foreign Policy Vesela Cherneva to the BNR.
She commented on the distribution of European commissioners' responsibilities:
"Maybe we should finally start thinking too, after everyone else has already decided where to aim. Bulgaria had a chance to get a serious portfolio. During the Denkov government, it was rumored that the energy portfolio could be offered, for example. This portfolio continues to be very important. I honestly don't think a caretaker government can ask for something so important and significant anymore. I would rather imagine that some of these more secondary portfolios could go to a country like Bulgaria, which has really given up on having a stable government and ultimately having a voice in the EU.
According to her, there will be a review of the weight of the portfolios. There will be a much stronger portfolio related to competitiveness, industrialization and the future of Europe's industry than a strong green portfolio, noted Vesela Cherneva. And added:
"There will certainly be a very important commissioner seat in terms of defense and defense industry coordination. I think Italy will be interested in the competitiveness related portfolio. There is a lot of talk that France may have a defensive interest in this. The portfolio related to enlargement, which has become very important from a geopolitical point of view - Donald Tusk's government is very serious about dealing with this issue during his rotating presidency. I will not be surprised if Poland has interest and ambition in this direction.
On the election of Ursula von der Leyen for a second term at the head of the European Commission, Cherneva commented:
"The feeling was that if Ursula von der Leyen was not supported, there could be chaos in Europe, not only in terms of the appointment of the new head of the Commission, but also generally in terms of the direction in which the next EC will go. Indeed, the centrist parties understood very well that there had to be enough support for von der Leyen so that amid the chaos around us, Europe could still continue steadily in the coming months and years.
According to her, the intention to bind all European funds to the rule of law and structural reforms is inevitable:
"As simple as it seems like an intention that will remain wishful thinking, I think especially for the donor countries, bearing in mind the conservative turn in Europe, bearing in mind that many societies are skeptical of how spend European money, there will be, in my opinion, much more, not only increased control over the spending of this money, but above all tying it to the rule of law. We are not talking about Bulgaria so much here, we are talking here especially about Hungary. We see the behavior of Orbán, which has angered many governments in Europe. This example of his should not become contagious. One way will be just that – the binding rule of law, that there must be rules in European countries that are comparable in order for the common market to function, that there must be courts that can rule in the same way approximately throughout The EU, that is these basic requirements, in my opinion, will certainly be tied to the cohesion funds, in general to the structuring of the next budget".
In her words, the war in Ukraine and the return of Trump are the two biggest tasks that Von der Leyen will have to deal with. According to her, the outcome of the US elections is still not predetermined, especially if Joe Biden decides to withdraw from the race.
A possible return of Trump will probably mean trade wars, predicts Vesela Cherneva in the program "Saturday 150". According to her, the EC will have to build policies that will protect Europe from blows across the Ocean in terms of economy, trade and customs. It will also mean the withdrawal of the US from European security, she added.
"Europe will very quickly have to reorient itself in terms of not only how much it spends on defence, but also how it spends".
Vesela Cherneva does not think that anything will result from the Hungarian presidency. "It will only strengthen the impression that Hungary is a country that does not participate in the EU in order to move the Union forward, but rather only to give a stage to its own one-man leader,", she commented.