State of The Union (European Union)

international | eu | other press Monday April 25, 2005 13:20 by iosaf

Today Rumania and Bulgaria will sign bits of paper which shall move them closer to membership of the European Union.

There will be a family photo.

It's been while since we spoke about either of these states, so here is a quick refresher:-


Bulgaria ws a member of the UN security council in 2003 and as such supported Bush on Iraq. It supplied teams to monitor bio and chem warfare, and has after an incident earlier this year entered a re-consideration of its military presence in Iraq.
If you check my now legendary list of SCUD and al samoud missiles that I published long ago when this sham was still interesting. you will find-
That IISS lists 8 SS-23 launchers in Bulgaria, despite prohibition of SS-23 missiles by the INF Treaty. IISS are a global strategic institute in Sweden you dont go arguing with them but Bush and Blair did.
Yes. Bulgaria broke the rules.
bad bad Bulgaria.

a short history of Bulgaria for an Irish readership.

Bulgaria is like Venezuela an Oil exporting country. It lies to the east of Dublin´s Fitzwilliam Street where the Bulgarians or "bulgars" if you wish be inaccurate have an embassy.
Bulgaria left the Ottoman Empire back in the nineteenth century and gave the world some traditionally based chamber music, some pretty dinky types of pottery very strong wine and a series of "nasty" dictators, the Ottoman empire was based around a variety of Turkish dynastiic possesions that ranged at varying stages from Sevilla in modern day España (an ally of Bush under Aznar an opponent of Bush under Zapatero) to Baghdad. (the enemy of Bush under Saddam a friend to Bush under - ah therein lies a mystery Iraq still has no government but a nice Kurd is available for photo ops and flag saluting).


One of the nasty dictators was a "royal" dictator, in that he was a "King". Just like the "king" of Nepal, but he didn't go as far as claiming to be Vishnu. Anyway not to bore you with history: Bulgaria was one of the ·axis of evil· (the WWII one that included NAZI Germany, Italy, Rumamia and Japan.

-so more Bulgarian essential history, but less of the "dictator-chat" and more of the Bartok will probably make your visit to the Fitzwilliam street legation a little bit smoother as you heartily congratulate the Bulgars on their accession to the Union.

By 1939 Bulgaria had moved inexorably into the fascist sphere of Germany and Italy. The country was tied to the former for economic reasons and because Germany promised territorial revision for
Bulgaria, and to the latter because Boris (that king) was married to the daughter of King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy. In the late 1930s, Bulgaria
continued to seek rapprochement with Yugoslavia; a friendship treaty was signed in 1937, and a renunciation of armed intervention in 1938. This would of course have an effect on Yugoslav/Bulgarian relations something Serbia seemed to inherit later. When Germany took the Sudetenland from Czechoslovakia in 1938, it
ended the anti-German Little Entente alliance of Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia, and Romania and pushed Yugoslavia closer to Bulgaria.

For the benefit of the youngsters, who still wet themselves when they read 1984 and stuff, Yugoslavia, Czechoslovaka and the USSR were countries back in 20th century Europe. They of course existed before New World Order.
c/f
http://www.indymedia.ie/newswire.php?story_id=69550

When World War II began in September 1939 with the German invasion of Poland, Bulgaria declared neutrality, but this position was inevitably altered by big-power relationships. "Most people were against WW2 and many wrote letters".(after Peter Cook 1937-1995)


remember that phrase.
"big power relationship".


The Nazi-Soviet alliance of 1939 improved Bulgaria's relations with the Soviet Union, which had remained cool, and yielded a Bulgarian-Soviet commercial treaty in 1940. The pro-Western Bulgarian Prime Minister Georgi Kioseivanov was deposed that year in favor of pro-German Bogdan Filov, who reduced cultural ties with the West and
instituted a Nazi-type youth league. Meanwhile, Boris strove to maintain neutrality, rejecting Soviet treaty offers in 1939 and 1940. Boris also rejected membership in the Balkan Entente and in a proposed Turkish-Yugoslav-Bulgarian defense pact, because such moves would anger Italy, Germany, the Soviet Union, or all three.

now think about that a moment.
try and learn a little.

Under pressure from Hitler, Romania ceded southern Dobruja to Bulgaria by the Treaty of Craiova in 1940. Needing Bulgaria to anchor its Balkan flank, Germany increased diplomatic and military pressure that year. The massing of German troops in Romania prior to invading Greece removed all remaining flexibility; aware that German troops would have to pass through Bulgaria to reach Greece, Bulgaria signed the Tripartite Pact with Germany and Italy in March 1941.

NOTE: The information regarding Bulgaria on this page is re-published from The Library of Congress Country Studies. The Library of Congress
are a USA institution and you dont argue with them.
[¿i really am good with the sources no?]

So you may be thinking oh BAD BAD BULGARIA back in the old days no?

so anyway after the war WWII the russians welcomed Bulgaria into the Warsaw pact of nations. This meant army, navy and airforce contibuted to Warsaw PAct operations.
Unlike Ireland, whose ariforce was deemed to be one of Europe´s non alinged airforces. I shall shortly tell you more about the N-A airforces of Europe. Meanwhile I can tell you Ireland does not have missiles but does make component parts for them Mary Harney calls these "kettles".
...which is just as good if not better- indeed.

more Bad BAD Bulgaria....
Dimitrov guided the framing of the 1947 constitution on the model of the 1936 constitution of the Soviet Union. The Bulgarian document guaranteed citizens equality before the law; freedom from discrimination; a universal welfare system; freedom of speech, the press, and assembly; and inviolability of person, domicile, and correspondence. But those rights were qualified by a clause prohibiting activity that would jeopardize the attainments of the national revolution of September 9, 1944.

sounds lovely.
the STASI tortured my friend´s father using a constitution just like that. Dmitrov by the way is the "father" of communist Bulgaria just like Tito for Yugoslavia. And yes this is relevant.

Citizens were guaranteed employment but required to work in a socially useful capacity. The
constitution also prescribed a planned national economy. Private property was allowed, if its possession was not "to the detriment of the public good." By the end of 1947, all private industry had been confiscated and financial enterprises nationalized in the culmination of a gradual government takeover that began in 1944. The first two-year plan for economic rehabilitation began in 1947.

important bit to remember was the property clause you may ask the Bulgars about it and then troll through Irish east European investment records.
But it wont turn your hair grey.

this led to the "post Stalin" phase.
This was a bad time for loads of "nastytypes"

1955 the Belgrade Declaration restored Soviet-Yugoslav friendship and reinstated Tito to the fraternity of world communist leaders. Because Chervenkov had branded Tito and the Yugoslavs as arch-villains during his rise to power, this agreement eroded his position. Then, in February 1956, Nikita S. Khrushchev denounced Chervenkov's patron Stalin and Stalin's cult of personality at the twentieth congress of the CPSU. Unwilling to stray from the Soviet party line, the BCP also condemned the cult of personality (and, implicitly, Chervenkov's authoritarianism), advocating instead collective leadership and inner-party democracy. In his 1956 report to party leaders, Zhivkov expressed this condemnation and promised that the party would make amends for past injustices--a clear reference to the fate of Kostov and Chervenkov's other purge victims in the party. Having had his entire regime repudiated by the party leader, Chervenkov resigned.

Zhivkov, who had thus far remained below Cherv
enkov in actual party power, now assumed the full powers of his party first secretary position. The 1956 April Plenum became the official date of Bulgarian de-Stalinization in party mythology; after that event, the atmosphere of BCP politics changed significantly.

yes significantly.
They got _heavy duty sinister_.

Data as of June 1992 courtesy of the US congress folk. this period was followed by a ·really not so nasty· man Mr Todor Zhivkov who skillfully retained control of the Bulgarian government
and the BCP. His regime was a period of unprecedented stability, slavish imitation of Soviet policies, and modest economic experimentation.

{that included psychiatric pharmocology and espoinage weaponry that included the poisonous tip umbrella and the largest production of truth serum [sodium pentathol] ever ever made}

After that you come to the nineteen eighties when extensive contact was alledged between KGB the Bulgar secret service and a bunch of Islamic extremists called the Grey wolves who operated out of Syria where you will remember the Baath party began and of course you know that this nasty little cabal led to an assasination attempt on John
Paul 2 who was the last pope (great man).

¿you did know that didn´t you?

Well yes. Bulgaria of today is looking forward not back. It most recently reached the Irish news-readers for being a money laundering place of choice beating andorra, san marino, and gibraltar who have reformed their money services secrecy in line with EU association. and
together with its ex-Fascist and ex-Stalinst neighbour Romania has just been welcomed into NATO.

Bulgaria of today is also engaging with the internet, the Bulgarians are presently building a site "Bulgarian peace keeping operations"
should be great.

Bulgaria like its neighbours has a had ahard time of transition from State centralised communism since the end of the USSR. It´s people however are fine musicians. At least those who I know. And music carries every tyranny every lie every foolish attempt at empire. Music continues and does not alter. Which is why I am very lucky to be a musician. The far right have made considerable grassroot progress in capitalising on the new inequalities in Bulgarian society. It does not seem strange that it finds ready bed mates with Italy and the USA.

maybe there's new axis?

Bulgaria's immediate neighbour is Romania.

Romania was famous for orphanages at the collapse of the soviet system which in its stalinist form last longer than anywhere else in Europe (bylerussia withstanding) in this Black Sea land.
Of course all the orphans grew up, and got proper jjobs and are generally well thought of throughout Europe, where people welcome them with understanding sympathy and post-materialist values.

have a think about that.

Romanian the language is a a derivative of Vulgate Latin, and indeed the roman imperial black sea ports saw a lot of "naughty poets" wash up as the classical antecedents of "eurotrash" many were exiled for satire and being too drunk at parties and not saying the right thing.

Some things never change.

Thus it is that a lot of sliver age latin poetry and drama was written and first performed in what is modern day Romania.
The romanians use the latin alphabet accordingly though now the majority profess the eastern orthodox faith. (the Bulgars use the cyrillic alphabet) (your passport will start looking more interesting). The most famous region of Romania is of course Transylvannia, where as we all know Dracula lived.

Well he didn't that was just a book,
and before the internet people believed things in books, because they were gullible.

romanians side with NAZI germany in 1940 and fought on the russian front which was actually in the Ukraine.
on the 23rd of August 1944 a coup changed sides and Rumania entered the "soviet" sphere its troops then fought the germans.

Modern day rumanians blame Churchill for allowing their country to enter the soviet sphere, and leaving Greece out, (read captain correli's mandolin) (read it. don't just watch a dvd learn something).

In 1951, five year plans were introduced to develop industry and agriculture. But in the 1960s, under the leadership of Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej and his successor, Nicolae Ceausescu, the Communist Party of Romania began to implement one of the most frightening tyrannies in europe of the post ww2 period.

the Ceausescu family canoodled up to prominent westerners including british and french in a picture postcard attempt to lessen the soviet influence, whilst at home the "securitate" made the stassi look like girl guides. (this presumes girl guides are curious, but bening, quite cruel, but don't steal your kids and bandage them up 24hours a day leaving them in orphanages)

but of course all those kids grew up happy
and are welcome throughout Europe.

On christmas day 1989 Ceausescu was executed by a provisional government.
This made telly and your parents and some older readers might remember it.
it was 16 years ago.

At the point the orphans were aged bewteen 12 years and 6 months, and after an adoption craze, got their lives together, pursued educational opportunities, and set off to integrate as welcome members of Europe's nomadic workers.

Rumania seems to have left its stalinist past behind, the majority of politicians and the political class all have mammies and daddies, and family photos of them growing up, and because old habits die hard, modern day Rumanians are a racist right wing nationalist lot, who feel really different from their neighbours who use strange alphabets, and don't boast Dracula. As such their smooth adhesion to the Eastern European group of nations in the €U will be quick. There's a lot of "post-fascism" out there, would you believe.
Unlike of course Ireland.

The ceremony will be held in Luxembourg city-

this is the official €U info on who's who, the family photo blah de blah, ribbid ribbid.

http://www.eu2005.lu/en/calendrier/2005/04/25bg-ro/index.html
http://www.eu2005.lu/en/medias/who_is_who/25signature/index.html
http://www.eu2005.lu/en/medias/infos/2005/04/25signature_traite/index.html
http://www.eu2005.lu/en/medias/guides/25signature/index.html