Warum das österreichische Veto gegen den Schengen-Beitritt von Bulgarien und Rumänien aus vielen Gründen kurzsichtig ist, erklären Sophia Beiter und Sebastian Schäffer im Gastkommentar in DiePresse.
Lesen Sie es hier.
Der Gastkommentar wurde in internationalen Medien rezipiert:
On 19 September, Sophia Beiter attended the event “Young Danube Bridges” at the Collegium Hungaricum in Vienna. Organized by the regional cultural advisor from the Danube Swabian Central Musuem in Ulm, the seminar was part of the project “International Youth Encounters in the Danube Region” and aimed to facilitate the exchange of knowledge and ideas on key issues concerning the area.
Participants from Germany, Hungary, Croatia, Montenegro, Romania, Bulgaria and Moldova came together to learn about the EU Strategy for the Danube Region. The young people, who are all learning German, presented their countries, brought some typical food from their region and gathered knowledge about the Danube region during creative games and interactive activities. Alongside the IDM, several cultural institutes and embassies of the respective countries were present at the event.
Read the briefing by Sophia Beiter here:
Watch the Short Insight on Bulgaria’s new government here:
Two months after the parliamentary elections in Bulgaria, a new government has finally been formed. The conservative centre-right alliance GERB-SDS and the liberal alliance “Change Continues – Democratic Bulgaria” will form a joint 18-month government with rotating prime ministers. First, Nikolay Denkov from the liberals will become prime minister. After nine months Mariya Gabriel from GERB-SDS will succeed him. The new Bulgarian government is expected to pursue a pro-European agenda. At the same time, the alliances will have to bridge their differences to provide long-term stability for Bulgaria.
Bulgaria’s New Government: Pro-European, Yet Divided
Bulgaria has formed a new government. For many this may come as a surprise and relief at the same time. The elections in April 2023 marked the fifth parliamentary election within a span of only 2 years. Now the winner of the election, the conservative centre-right alliance GERB-SDS, and the liberal alliance “Change Continues – Democratic Bulgaria” have reached an agreement. They will establish an 18-month joint government with rotating prime ministers. In a vote in parliament on 6 June, the government was confirmed with 131 out of 200 votes. First, the liberal’s former Education Minister, Nikolay Denkov, will assume the role of Prime Minister. After nine months he will be succeeded by former EU Commissioner Marija Gabriel from the conservative GERB-SDS.
Bulgaria is in urgent need of stable governance. Whether the new government can provide long-term stability remains to be seen. The negotiations between the alliances were challenging. During the election campaign, the liberals firmly rejected any idea of a coalition with the conservatives. Talks even experienced a temporary freeze due to a leaked video of the liberals’ internal discussions. The deep divisions and lack of trust between the alliances are evident. But they also have some common goals. The new government will pursue a pro-European agenda. Bulgaria’s accession to the Schengen and the Eurozone are expected to be among the government’s primary objectives. Both alliances also support providing military aid to Ukraine. Regarding domestic concerns, a comprehensive reform of the judiciary system and combating corruption will be given top priority. It is now up to Denkov and Gabriel to overcome their differences.
On December 8th, Austria blocked EU members Romania and Bulgaria from joining the Schengen area, quoting fears of uncontrolled irregular migration as a main explanation. In response, in both countries, calls for a boycott of Austrian companies followed. What lies behind Austria’s veto and what consequences will it have for the EU and the region? Why can individual states block decisions of that magnitude for other EU members? Do we witness another face of Euroscepticism, in which “vetoism” is a tool of countering supranationalism? Finally, what measures should be taken to improve the decision-making processes at the EU-level?
We discussed these and other questions together with:
Mihai Razvan Ungureanu, former Prime Minister of Romania
Vladislava Gubalova, Senior Research Fellow, Centre for Global Europe, GLOBSEC Policy Institute
Daniela Apaydin, Research Associate, Institute for the Danube Region and Central Europe
Sebastian Schäffer, Managing Director, Institute for the Danube Region and Central Europe
Moderation:
Malwina Talik, Research Associate, Institute for the Danube Region and Central Europe.
Watch the discussion here:
The whole discussion is available on the YouTube channel of the IDM:
