Lately, on all sorts of occasions “Bulgarian and foreign guests” are trying to put Bulgaria in some dismal rank list, leading to the conclusion: the poorest country in the European Union. Whatever this means, personally I express distrust, to say the least, to the ranking as well as the criteria by which it is done.

A state, which is the only one in Europe to preserve its name over 1300 years, which revived more than once and saved its national identity intact; a State with a capital letter, even only for the inexhaustible spiritual energy of its people, bearer of a huge material, cultural and historical heritage (not invented or stolen), cannot be poor.

For nearly twenty years now the tough Bulgarian society has been engaged in a hard transition to a new form of political and economic relations, called democracy and market economy.

There is hardly another country in EU with so many legally registered forms of organized public energy per capita: foundations, civic associations, parties, NGOs, etc.

At the same time, today it turns out this country is experiencing a deficit in internal and international identity to answer the cardinal question for its survival: In the next 50–100 years, where will the energy come from to feed the economy, provide oxygen to the companies and drive the transport vehicles, to meet the needs of the “smallest” individual?

In some cases the EU gives us as an example of political egoism in the solution of the energy supply problem. The largest Member States, and the smaller Western states, resolve it in their own individually advantageous way.

Where is Bulgaria and its people in this process? After the rash closing down of the Kozloduy NPP blocks (in compliance with the EU recommendations), unless we implement the projects Belene NPP, South Stream, Nabucco, etc. we, Bulgarians, doom ourselves to be outsiders in the EU.

I believe the Bulgarian society has enormous moral energy to solve in its favour the issue of energy sources and utilize the potential of the traditionally good relations of Bulgaria with the leading countries in production and supply.