What do we want Bulgaria to be like, what makes it different from other countries, what can we do to make it a better place to live in so that young people would buy a return ticket? These were the questions discussed by the participants in a conference mottoed “My dream for Bulgaria” organized in Brussels by GERB/ European People’s Party MEP Eva Paunova. The forum was attended also by Kristalina Georgieva, Vice-President of the European Commission, by the Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Tourism Daniel Mitov and Nikolina Angelkova, by dozens of Bulgarians living and working in the capital of Belgium, as well as European People’s Party Secretary General Antonio Lopez.

“I dream of the kind of Bulgaria most of our compatriots dream of,” said for Radio Bulgaria Eva Paunova. “There are many Bulgarians around the world who have done interesting things. Bulgaria really would be a different place if all of the good things our compatriots have done were to happen inside the country. This means a very serious change. Seeing the repercussions of this conference I can say I dream of a Bulgaria that would be more united on things positive. Success comes to those who believe in it. That is why we need more self-assurance, but also a desire to attain the goals we have set ourselves together.”

Bulgaria has a history going back centuries we can learn a lot from. But it is not just history but the successes of today that can be a matter of national pride. And Bulgaria is now going through just such a period, says Eva Paunova:

“The reforms we have to put through are very clear. One of them must be in the sphere of education and that is an opinion shared by all participants in the forum. The second sphere is the administration which must work for the citizens and not for its own sake. And the third – the judiciary which must mete out justice and not inspire a feeling of lawlessness.

I think the government is now aware of the need for change but we should all unite to attain these goals. As Minister Mitov put it, it is crucial that we work pursuing our dreams, otherwise they will become illusions. My own work is in the sphere of education and the digitalization of the administration. To my mind this is a way to alter the social environment and the way of thinking in Bulgaria.”

Eva Paunova stated that after the conference was over she had felt the participants’ empathy. Many Bulgarians, including our compatriots living abroad talked to her about their own ideas of how Bulgaria can be modernized. These are ideas we shall be working on and we shall see how many of them will work out, Eva Paunova said and expounded on one of her own ideas:

“One of the things we would like to do is an online platform where Bulgarians from the country and from around the world will be able to exchange ideas on what kind of Bulgaria they want to see and how they imagine it. We could make a summary of all ideas each month and discuss them with a member of the government.”

One of the ideas MEP Eva Paunova put forward is to make the meeting on “the dream Bulgaria” an annual event of longer duration. Next time there will be working groups to look into the principal problems connected with the reforms in education, justice, healthcare and the economy. When the forum is over the members of the working group will get together to discuss the steps taken for making their dreams of Bulgaria come true.

Eva Paunova likes to go back to Kennedy’s words: “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country,” and says she feels sure that the “dreamers for Bulgaria” agree with them.

English version: Milena Daynova