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BALKAN OPPORTUNITIES LOST AND GAINED
By Nikos Konstandaras
Kathimerini
http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w_articles_wsite3_1_12/07/2012_451882
July 12 2012
Greece
Last week, Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev paid an official visit
to Greece. Since we sank into our crisis, very few heads of state
have come to Athens (with only the Armenian and Ukrainian presidents
visiting last year), but the Bulgarian president's stay did not
receive much publicity. This indicates the good level of relations
between the two neighbors, who are also both members of NATO and the
European Union. But it is also evidence of how our obsession with the
crisis and its consequences does not allow us to see beyond our daily
drama to the joint potential that we could share with our neighbors.
Until recently, things were very different. Then, every contact between
Greece and Bulgaria was a notable event - without our going all the
way back to the hostilities of the Balkan Wars and WWII. For most of
the second half of last century, Greece found itself on the western
side of the Iron Curtain while Bulgaria was in the Soviet bloc. They
were in different worlds, with Greece enjoying the prosperity that
the socialist countries would wait a long time to approach.
And yet, when in March 1987 Greece and Turkey suddenly came to the
brink of war over a dispute in the Aegean, then Foreign Minister
(now President) Karolos Papoulias flew to Bulgaria for talks with
the Communist leadership. The dramatic move made a great impression
internationally, underlining that at a moment of crisis with a fellow
NATO ally, Athens trusted a member of the Soviet bloc more than its
"official" allies. Not many years earlier, our allies the Turks had
invaded Cyprus - and mighty NATO had proved incapable of dislodging
them or punishing them. By dispatching Papoulias to Sofia, Prime
Minister Andreas Papandreou wanted to stress his suspicion of Greece's
allies and to show that Athens considered Bulgaria a better friend
than its nominal allies. He also wanted to show off the "non-aligned"
foreign policy that was his PASOK party's flag.
For years, Greece was in the privileged position of being the only
country in the region to be both in NATO and the EU. It could improvise
in its political relations with neighbors who had in the past hosted
significant Greek populations and commerce but were now in a different
geopolitical camp. The USA and other allies put up with this because
Greece was a key member of NATO's southeastern flank.
However, despite all the flashy moves, Greece was slow to exploit
its commercial advantages in the region.
Today, when we find ourselves in crisis and our neighbors are also
partners, the Balkans should be a priority for the development of
economic ties and for relations of true friendship.
By Nikos Konstandaras
Kathimerini
http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w_articles_wsite3_1_12/07/2012_451882
July 12 2012
Greece
Last week, Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev paid an official visit
to Greece. Since we sank into our crisis, very few heads of state
have come to Athens (with only the Armenian and Ukrainian presidents
visiting last year), but the Bulgarian president's stay did not
receive much publicity. This indicates the good level of relations
between the two neighbors, who are also both members of NATO and the
European Union. But it is also evidence of how our obsession with the
crisis and its consequences does not allow us to see beyond our daily
drama to the joint potential that we could share with our neighbors.
Until recently, things were very different. Then, every contact between
Greece and Bulgaria was a notable event - without our going all the
way back to the hostilities of the Balkan Wars and WWII. For most of
the second half of last century, Greece found itself on the western
side of the Iron Curtain while Bulgaria was in the Soviet bloc. They
were in different worlds, with Greece enjoying the prosperity that
the socialist countries would wait a long time to approach.
And yet, when in March 1987 Greece and Turkey suddenly came to the
brink of war over a dispute in the Aegean, then Foreign Minister
(now President) Karolos Papoulias flew to Bulgaria for talks with
the Communist leadership. The dramatic move made a great impression
internationally, underlining that at a moment of crisis with a fellow
NATO ally, Athens trusted a member of the Soviet bloc more than its
"official" allies. Not many years earlier, our allies the Turks had
invaded Cyprus - and mighty NATO had proved incapable of dislodging
them or punishing them. By dispatching Papoulias to Sofia, Prime
Minister Andreas Papandreou wanted to stress his suspicion of Greece's
allies and to show that Athens considered Bulgaria a better friend
than its nominal allies. He also wanted to show off the "non-aligned"
foreign policy that was his PASOK party's flag.
For years, Greece was in the privileged position of being the only
country in the region to be both in NATO and the EU. It could improvise
in its political relations with neighbors who had in the past hosted
significant Greek populations and commerce but were now in a different
geopolitical camp. The USA and other allies put up with this because
Greece was a key member of NATO's southeastern flank.
However, despite all the flashy moves, Greece was slow to exploit
its commercial advantages in the region.
Today, when we find ourselves in crisis and our neighbors are also
partners, the Balkans should be a priority for the development of
economic ties and for relations of true friendship.