„The Balkans are showing for the last time an active and vigilant civil society. These are people with a profile, with a face, who stand up for their interests, principles, and causes. That is why there was great disappointment because the European Commission abandoned the Balkans and for years there have been no sufficient incentives and signs that these countries will soon be accepted into the European Union.“
This is how the former Deputy Prime Minister of Bulgaria and diplomat Meglena Plugchieva commented on the protest wave that swept the Balkans.
„In Bulgaria, an initiative was raised against prices and against the second and third quality of the goods that are coming. But it was not completed. This is the difference between us and the Serbian society, the Serbian students, who have been stubbornly standing up and fighting against corruption for three months, which has taken over a large part of their social and economic life,“ she also pointed out.
In her words, political corruption deprives society and young people of a future.
„This concerns their access to jobs, as it became clear. In all directions, these are metastases against which young people in Serbia are rebelling. We have also seen how quickly, like dominoes, the protest against high prices is developing. As a society, we must learn lessons and see how principles and interests are defended to the end,“ Plugchieva also stated.
„It is no secret that our national psychology and our bright individualism play a certain role. As a society, we have a hard time finding a reason to come out and fight together. "Everyone has closed themselves off in their own circle, shell and interests and is struggling to survive individually, which I think does not speak well of us and is not a good prospect for the future," the diplomat explained.