Politicians are not always a reflection of their citizens, as it appears. In an interview with German magazine Der Spiegel, Bulgarian Finance Minister Simeon Djankov shows no sympathy for neighboring Greece or “for the misery in Southern Europe,” as stresses the editor.
Being a colleague of the World Bank, Mr Djankov advises Greece to conduct many reforms. “I told my Greek counterpart to do so almost three years ago but still, nothing has changed,” said Bulgarian Minister.
Asked if his country, still one of the poorest in the EU, was balancing its budget at the expense of the people, he replied that “This is a false and dangerous contradiction that Southern Europeans recently added to the debate. Countries like Germany, Finland or Bulgaria have growing economies and still adhere to the deficit rules. Saving money and developing is not a contradiction. But all this could happen only under the condition that necessary reforms are implemented.”
“While Eastern Europe is largely implementing the necessary reforms, Southern Europe does almost nothing but complain,” continued Mr Simeon Djankov, probably insinuating blame on neighboring Greece. “In Southern Bulgaria we have Greece and its problems, in Northern we have Romania. It is difficult for our country to show that it’s stable,” he concluded.
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