"Bulgaria will be governed in the new strongly coordinated European style of the European Commission," Meglena Kuneva, Deputy Prime Minister for European Policies and Institutions Issues in the new government, told Radio Bulgaria. She is co-chair of the Reformist Bloc and one of four deputy prime ministers in the complex structure of Boyko Borissov's second cabinet after the snap elections of October 5 this year. The bloc is part of the ruling coalition of GERB with program support from the Patriotic Front and the partnering party Alternative for Bulgarian Revival (ABV). Meglena Kuneva is co-chair of the European Affairs Council with the second Borissov cabinet and together Tomislav Donchev, Deputy Prime Minister for EU Funds Management and Economic Policy, defends the interests of the country at the first meetings of the General Affairs Council of the EU in Brussels today. The forum focuses on the long-term EU institutional framework, investment policy, the common energy alliance, cohesion policy and more.

Is Meglena Kuneva's portfolio only a compromise high position in power or is it rather a clear target relation to the positions of the vice premiers from GERB, Tomislav Donchev and Roumiana Bachvarova - Deputy Prime Minister in coalition politics and public administration in the so-called pro-European reformist government of the poorest country in the EU which is still in a serious crisis? Don't these sectors overlap? Here is the commentary of Meglena Kuneva:

"My portfolio focuses on the strong coordination. Ms. Buchvarova will be in charge of administrative matters. This is not in my portfolio, but either way it will include coordination of policies. Everything is connected with what administration there is to carry out these policies. The Europe 2020 strategy is a matter of politics and I will be in charge of this. The issue of the energy union is also politics even though there is a separate Minister for Energy. It is also connected with my competences, except for the issues of Bulgaria's accession into the Schengen area, Justice and Home Affairs, shelters, refugees and so on. These are all European policies and each of them must be coordinated with dozens of others. I'm not exaggerating. The fact that the European Commission appointed several vice presidents without portfolios but only as coordinators means that we have a new approach to management. To my satisfaction, this coincides with the views of the current cabinet. Deputy Prime Minister Donchev deals with Cohesion EU funds where we also have intersecting points. I am glad that more ministers will be involved in EU polices, because over 70% of investments in Bulgaria come from EU funds. "Europe 2020" is already a fact. But what is the Bulgarian point of view and how to succeed is a matter of politics. We need careful coordination so we could be able to support already sufficiently well-defined policies in Bulgaria."

In which countries and in what areas can we find common ground to protect Bulgaria's key interests?

"The honest answer is all. Nothing should be omitted. I have excellent experience in the implementation of joint positions with Greece, for example in the process of Bulgaria's joining the EU /Jan 1, 2007/. The logic is usually to have your neighbors on your side because you usually have similar interests. For me it is very important to build a close relationship with Romania, Greece and all countries experiencing the same difficulties as us. Eastern European countries are similar in many ways. But now Spain is suffering from severe youth unemployment. In this field we are in one group with Spain and Greece. But there are other common problems such as the demographic problem and Roma children dropping out early from school. Bulgaria has 10 votes in the Council of the EU, such as Austria, Sweden, for example. We should not underestimate ourselves. What matters is what we say. But we should support the experienced administration and have strong political leadership”, Meglena Kuneva concludes.

English Rossitsa Petcova