Bulgaria: The Spectre of a Two-Speed Europe
One of Bulgaria’s paradoxes is that 25 years after the collapse of communism and almost ten years of EU membership, it seems to be quite unhappy with the transition but rather happy with its EU membership. In this way, the EU continues to be a beacon outside rather than the reality inside the country.
Bulgaria is generally pro-integration, identifying energy union, migration and asylum in particular as key policy domains where more should be achieved at the EU level. However, it shuns policies that could slow down its economic catch-up with other EU countries, such as common taxation policy.
The EU does not suffer from any lack of legitimacy in Bulgaria. However, it needs to remain credible in the eyes of the citizens, help EU countries to be ready to face today’s globalisation and be a relevant actor on the international scene.
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Bulgaria: The Spectre of a Two-Speed Europe
Center for Asian Studies
Asia is a nerve center for multiple global economic, political and security challenges. The Center for Asian Studies provides documented expertise and a platform for discussion on Asian issues to accompany decision makers and explain and contextualize developments in the region for the sake of a larger public dialogue.
The Center's research is organized along two major axes: relations between Asia's major powers and the rest of the world; and internal economic and social dynamics of Asian countries. The Center's research focuses primarily on China, Japan, India, Taiwan and the Indo-Pacific, but also covers Southeast Asia, the Korean peninsula and the Pacific Islands.
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