On 25th March the first lecture of the European program of MOVE.BG "You move Europe" was held.
In the studio presenting their arguments on the theme: Dr. Hristo Hristev, professor of EU Law at Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski,” Borislav Sandov, civil activist and President of the Green Party, and Julia Zaharieva, Lecturer of European Union Law at Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski” University of Veliko Turnovo “St. Cyril and Methodius.” The initiator and founder of MOVE.BG Sasha Bezuhanova presented the program “You Move Europe” and moderated the lecture.
We sought answers to these questions among others: What are our rights and opportunities as European citizens? What are the practical dimensions of citizenship as a key element of European integration? What are the forms and mechanisms of citizen participation in decision-making in the European Union? How can citizens participate in and influence the European Union? How can citizens participate in and influence the European process? At the end of the lecture each guest will present his or her recommendations on the subject.
| Sasha Bezuhanova:
“We Bulgarians have a place in public debate in terms of how we want to live in Europe!” |
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| Dr. Hristo Hristev:
“I would make recommendations to the citizens directly, not to our candidates!” |
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| Professor Julia Zaharieva:
“The question – So what?, we’ve been repeating it for 7 years now!” |
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| Borislav Sandov:
“We have to think of the European Union as our home.” |
Watch the entire lecture here:
A summary of what the participants said during the discussion:
Starting her presentation with a question: “Is March 25th a random date?” Julia Zaharieva noted that it was 57 years ago today that this unique European design began. The professor of European Law questions: “So what?” It has been 7 years now so we need to be considered as part of the European Union and use all the mechanisms that have been built for more than half a century. She asked if we have realized what we expect from the people who will vote in the European elections. Professor Zechariah is adamant that we should carefully consider what’s in the hands of our 17 representatives when we vote in May. She then explained that these people in reality make decisions that affect our everyday lives. They will choose the European Ombudsman, will vote for President of the European Commission and they are the people who will approve our external contracts. Prof. Zaharieva recommended to our elected representatives to remember that in the European Union that there are no national colours. She turned to them with the words: “Let your actions, elected representatives, enrich the image of Bulgaria in Europe,” and added that perhaps seven years is a short period, and probably we are currently in ‘elementary school.’
The European Initiative for Media Pluralism is extremely important and crucial for our country, said co-chair of The Green Party Borislav Sandov. In his words we must be preemptively set in this direction, because we are guaranteed certain European rights to information and media ownership. He shared the idea that it is time to convene the European Convention, and then explained that it’s like calling the Grand National Assembly to clarify some issues and problems. Sandov noted that it doesn’t address issues relating to the market or migration, because the focus is on civil initiatives. According to him the Green community has the most experience in defense of European law, but we don’t fully utilize the Ombudsman and we don’t approach the Luxembourg court directly on issues relating to the environment – and there we have the most expertise. In conclusion Sandov said, “We must think of the European Union as our home!”
Dr. Hristev said we should make recommendations to the Bulgarian citizens directly, and not towards our European candidates. According to the Professor of European Law at Sofia niversity “St. Kliment Ohridski” we should read more in order to make an informed decision who to support, and we should avoid the clichés ‘left’ or ‘right’ and we need to be clear who are the people with suitable positions and be able to defend the interests of the citizens. Dr. Hristev emphasizes on the rights of Bulgarian citizens in the European Union because according to him, the awareness will give us more ‘ammunition’ when institutions are not doing their job. He added, “Let us think of the time when we could not travel as easy and had to wait days to travel to another country.” We also should not forget the contribution of the European Union bailout of Strandja, and that alliance gives us the right to equal treatment – discrimination is prohibited, we are equal citizens to France, Italy and Spain. What did Dr. Hristo Hristev have to say about the fears of the ‘old’ Europeans to new citizens? – You can watch the video of the lecture.
