Sat, Nov 21 2009

Clive Leviev-Sawyer

Editorial: Time of changes

Fri, Nov 06 2009 09:59 CET byClive Leviev-Sawyer 802 Views
In a week in which Europe and much of the world commemorated the fall of the Berlin Wall, it is notable that this new November heralded several changes of its own.

The Czech constitutional court removed what was expected to be the final procedural obstacle to the Lisbon Treaty, opening the way for a new-style European Union. At the same time, within the EU and among non-EU countries within the region, many changes are afoot, from the new government in Greece to the still-unfolding political dramas in, among others, Romania, Moldova and Ukraine, and the refreshed possibilities – if the correct and courageous choices are made – for the EU prospects for Serbia, Macedonia and Turkey.

Against this background, Bulgaria’s post-July 2009 Government has completed its first 100 days, a milestone largely only of symbolic meaning, but at least one that produced some evidence of progress on key issues such as clearing away the deficit. If Bulgaria can make genuine progress on profound problems afflicting it domestically, notably organised crime and corruption, then it would indeed be better placed to take a leadership role in a region where, in some countries, the promise of November 1989 has been pulled badly out of shape.

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Photo Gallery: The Wall

On November 9 this year the world marked the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, the most hated symbol of the Cold War era and the Iron Curtain which divided Europe for almost half a century.

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