Over the second half of 2018 Bulgaria will take over the EU rotational presidency for first time. The country has been preparing for a second year in a row for the forthcoming responsible task.

The preparation of a draft account for the presidency should have been a major element at the start of the process mid-2013. In the beginning of 2014 there was no such an account, but its cost was estimated somewhere between the cheapest Danish presidency – EUR 35 million and the most expensive, the French one – EUR 171 million.

The Oresharski cabinet determined the presidency’s preparation as one of the major priorities of its governing across 2014, but this cabinet was early taken down. The current government of Boyko Borissov took over and began the real preparation by approving a respective plan. At its presentation Vice Premier Roumyana Bachvarova provided the necessary information gathered, which allowed the concrete number of people to be assessed for the preparation of all forums and sittings of the presidency. There is also an assessment of the available administrative capacity on European issues. A working group under the leadership of Minister Bachvarova was created for the presidency’s administration establishment. It is known that the administration has to count some 1,300 people. Statements of high-ranking executive power representatives make it clear that they know it – this administration must be highly professional, but also sustainable and independent from any political party.

The results from the Borissov cabinet’s plan for the forthcoming EU presidency will be reported before the Council of Ministers every three months. The necessary trainings for raising the qualification of the experts involved will be determined by the end of the current year. Experience and expertise will be also gathered from member-states that have already gone through the process of EU presidency. The process has already kicked off with internships and working visits with the purpose of research for good practices.

However, the presidency’s preparation is far from over yet, despite entering a new and real phase. Stable, non-partisan agreement on the process’ major priorities should be reached by the second half of 2018. It won’t be an easy thing to do due to the specifics of the national political life. Besides that the administrative capacity on its own won’t be enough for a successful presidency and political figures will be needed to make the right decisions within the current complicated EU conjuncture and its relations with the world. Who will those people be? We can’t predict that, as 2018 is still far away. The big challenges for the Bulgarian presidency of the EU are still ahead.

English version: Zhivko Stanchev