There are long-term and extremely complicated risks for the joint security and Bulgaria is an active participant in searching for fast and common measures for coping with the growing number of challenges. This is how Bulgarian Minister Daniel Mitov welcomed the participants in an international conference entitled "The role of NATO and the EU in the wider Black Sea region." The event was organized by the Sofia Security Forum in cooperation with the Wilfried Martens Centre for European Studies and the Konrad Adenauer Foundation.

"In the past year we have been witnessing deepening and broadening range of security risks. The crisis in the Middle East and the continuing influence of the so-called "Islamic State" put not only Bulgaria but also the entire European continent in a new situation"- the Foreign Minister said speaking about the crisis in the Middle East and North Africa.

"The current refugee and immigrant crisis has been among the greatest challenges for the past decades. The risks coming from the northeast are not small, too. The annexation of Crimea and Russia's efforts to destabilize Ukraine significantly changed the overall security situation in Europe and in the Black Sea region itself. These actions are a direct violation of the core values ​​and principles of the European order. Currently, these risks should be accepted as long-term ones and require a series of measures. At this backdrop Bulgaria has been put in a new situation. Bulgaria is an external border of the EU, and is ‘in the first line of contact’ with numerous risks and threats. From this perspective, changes in the abilities for response and in the overall foreign policy behavior are needed. Changes are also needed in the policies of the EU and NATO. We need new regional measures to respond better to the long-term security risks. What is needed is a further Europeanization in refugee policy and systemic financial and institutional support to countries that have external borders to the Union."

The Foreign Minister highlighted the priority importance of the Black Sea region to Bulgaria:

"The region would be able to continue its development based on full recognition and respect for the right of each country to freely choose which economic and political communities to join and the preservation of its territorial integrity. The Republic of Bulgaria consistently supports this sovereign right and helps within its capacity to those countries that are making efforts to be closer to the EU and NATO. We will respond positively to every opportunity for reducing tensions in the region and for the rapid recovery of fruitful cooperation with all countries in it," the Minister said.

After Bulgaria became a member state in 2007, the EU launched the "Black Sea Synergy" initiative as part of the policy for good neighbor relations, which covered neighboring EU countries - Ukraine, Moldova, Turkey, Georgia and Russia. But development under the program has stopped.

"Two years ago there was an intensive discussion, and concrete steps for the adoption of the maritime strategy of the EU, similar to the EU Danube Strategy, were taken,” said Velina Chakarova of the Austrian Institute for European and Security Policy. “This was an attempt to systematize approaches and to introduce specific policies towards the Black Sea region. It should be a unifying policy, given the fact that some are EU and NATO member states, while others are not or are candidates. It is not easy to find a unifying force and this can exacerbate regional confrontation. Given that the EU is preoccupied with internal and external problems, just like NATO is, this vacuum will grow. When Russia and Turkey, who are currently focused on more serious problems of their own, redirect the attention to this region, the situation will become serious. We must be prepared with a scenario for practical measures. I am not talking about the immigration wave that will continue to rise. I speak about influences that come from the Islamic caliphate, about the conflict in eastern Ukraine that would not stop soon, and about unresolved economic and financial problems in the region. I would not join the optimistic forecasts for the region, but I’d rather call for serious preparation for possible shocks," Velina Chakurova says in conclusion.

English: Alexander Markov