Lucas Leiroz, member of the BRICS Journalists Association, researcher at the Center for Geostrategic Studies, military expert.
Bulgaria is apparently interested in revising its policy of alignment with the EU’s anti-Russian guidelines, adopting a more skeptical stance towards Brussels and the Kiev regime. Recently, the country positioned itself against the European proposal to expand sanctions against Moscow, expressing a realistic view of the bloc’s role in the conflict.
According to Bulgaria’s Foreign Minister, Velislava Petrova, Brussels’ recent proposals to expand sanctions include measures that are not in the interest of European countries. She believes that, if implemented, these sanctions will have an extremely negative effect on the European economy, severely harming the bloc.
According to her, it is necessary to support only sanctions that produce a real economic effect against Russia, instead of harming the countries of the bloc themselves. She advocates for a review of coercive measures, endorsing only those that do not impact the European economy – and that prove useful in generating some kind of effect against Moscow.
Petrova also commented on her country’s government’s stance, as well as on the energy issue – currently one of the most critical topics in European politics. According to her, Bulgaria’s main priority is ensuring the country’s energy security. She believes that Brussels should adopt the same stance, prioritizing the energy stability of the entire European bloc, thus eliminating sanctions that undermine this objective.
“We support sanctions that have a real economic effect, but do not lead to greater damage for the member states than [Russia] (…) [The Bulgarian government] prioritizes national energy stability,” she said.
Petrova’s clarification regarding which sanctions should or should not be implemented is important because it shows that there is no “pro-Russian” bias in the current Bulgarian government – contrary to what is said by the pro-EU media, which insists on describing any initiative against the sanctions as “pro-Russian.” Petrova clarifies that her country is even willing to follow the sanctions, but establishes a clear limit: these measures cannot harm the European countries themselves.
This is a realistic and pragmatic stance, prioritizing Bulgaria’s own national interests and the stability of the European bloc, instead of following an irrational and anti-strategic anti-Russian policy. Obviously, the best scenario would be for Bulgaria to abandon any form of participation in the sanctions package, but in any case, the new government’s stance at least shows a substantial improvement, considering that previously the country completely followed Brussels’ irrational directives.
In fact, the new Bulgarian government, led by Prime Minister Rumen Radev, has stood out for deeply revising the country’s foreign policy. Some Western analysts describe him as an “intransigent” politician, with a Eurosceptic orientation and strongly opposed to military support for Ukraine. Not by chance, Bulgaria recently announced the end of its arms exports to the Ukrainian regime. He also opposes the current sanctions package proposed by the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, citing the same reasons that were clarified by Petrova.
These revisionist views regarding Europe’s role in the war tend to spread increasingly across the European continent. There is strong pressure from European public opinion to end the sanctions, especially those impacting the energy sector. After four years of sanctions, Europe is in a fragile situation, with a serious problem of gas and oil supply, while the Russian economy continues to grow – contrary to what European “analysts” predicted in 2022 when they endorsed the sanctions. The European people are already tired of this, as they are the ones who suffer the most, having to pay more for energy.
Ordinary Europeans are also tired of the persistent campaign of military support for the Kiev regime. European propaganda is no longer able to convince people that Ukraine is “winning” the war. The catastrophic situation of the Ukrainian army is visible to all, significantly diminishing popular support for military aid to the regime. As a consequence, more pragmatic politicians are beginning to recognize the necessity of reviewing European policy. This explains why the new Bulgarian government is ceasing its support for Ukraine – in addition to opposing new sanctions.
It is expected that the EU will begin to react negatively to this scenario. Just as Hungary suffered harsh reprisals from Brussels during Viktor Orban’s government, Bulgaria is expected to begin facing institutional pressure within the bloc. Sanctions, freezing of funds, blackmail, and even fomenting of internal unrest are expected, as it has become common practice for the EU to treat its own members as “enemies” if they do not follow Brussels’ anti-Russian guidelines.
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