Bulgaria has to receive the chance to become a full member of EU on January 1, 2007
H.E. Mr. Fernando Arias Gonzalez, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Kingdom of Spain, about his work in Bulgaria and the Don Quixote values today

Mr. Fernando Arias Gonzalez was born on February 27, 1952. He has a degree in Law. Started his diplomatic career in 1979. Consecutively Cultural Counselor in the Spanish Embassy in the Netherlands, Deputy Head of Mission in the Spanish Embassy in Romania, Senior Official in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Deputy Head of Mission in the Spanish Embassy in Mexico, Deputy Head of Mission in the Spanish Embassy in Buenos Aires, Ambassador of Spain to the Islam Republic of Mauritania, Ambassador of Spain to the Republic of Mali, with residence in Nuakchott, Head of the Protocol Department (with the rank of Director General) of the Presidency of the Government.

Bearer of many awards and distinctions.

Bulgarian Diplomatic Review presented Ambassador Fernando Arias Gonzalez for the first time in issue 8/2005 with his opinion on the independence of the judiciary in Spain and Bulgaria in the rubric “The Law”.

Your Excellency, you have been in Bulgaria long enough, how do you feel here?
This is my second posting on the Balkans. In the 1980s I was posted to Bucharest and then, in 1984 I visited Sofia for the first time. Today I find a totally different country that has outlined and structured its future on the basis of economic development, freedom and progress. It feels good to see this kind of change in a European country, which is close to Spain and is our partner. Since the very first moment everybody treated me well. This also makes my attitude to Bulgaria positive and everything I do here brings me great professional satisfaction. The relations between our countries are getting closer and closer and the work at the Embassy never stops. Bulgaria\'s process of integration in the European Union requires a lot of work of a most variegated nature. All this makes me feel happy in Bulgaria.

The diplomatic relations between the Republic of Bulgaria and the Kingdom of Spain were established in the early 20th century (1910). How would you assess their development through the years? What is the state of our relations today?
In the 20th century we had a long period of tragic events that affected both Bulgaria and Spain. The two world wars, the communist regime here and the Francist regime in Spain that curbed the political, economic and social development of the two countries and did not allow the unfolding of Spain-Bulgaria relations. Fortunately, with the transition that started in the mid 1970s in Spain and in the late 1980s in Bulgaria, a lot has been achieved. When I visited Sofia in 1984, at the Spanish Embassy there were only the Ambassador, a young secretary and a small administrative team. Today, besides the Ambassador, we have a deputy chief of mission, who is a high-ranking diplomat, a consul, counselors for economic, educational, internal and political matters, and a staff carrying out specialized activities in all sectors. We rely on a team that we would like to expand, but which is already numerous as it is. In a couple of months, we will have the honor to own a Cervantes Institute which will take the former building of the US Embassy (currently we are making an overhaul). The inauguration will take place in the first months of 2006. The Institute will be a seven-floor cultural center and will be equipped with the latest technologies.

This means that in less than 20 years we have made a huge leap forward. The list of the agreements and treaties, signed between the two countries is also impressive. Among them we may highlight the long-term agreement on economic and industrial-technical cooperation, the agreement on scientific and technical cooperation, the agreement on cooperation in the field of tourism, the program for cooperation in the field of education, science and culture, the agreement on the avoidance of double taxation, the treaty for friendship and cooperation, the agreement regulating labor migration, which is especially important, and many others.

About 50 thousand Bulgarians are legally staying in Spain at the moment. There are another few thousands who have not set their papers in order yet so as to legalize their stay. There are daily flights between Sofia and Madrid, which are always full. Hence the contacts between our countries are continuos and especially close in the sphere of politics, because along with being partners in Europe, we are also allies and friends.

Are there any unused resources for mutually beneficial cooperation between our countries and in which spheres?
I am absolutely certain there are niches to be filled yet, but what I do is to deepen the relations in the field of cooperation. We are not speaking of rendering support to an underdeveloped country anymore, but of a cooperation on a higher level like for example the one within the Phare Program projects, the twinning projects. Spain is among the European countries running most projects in important spheres as the judiciary. We have to deepen our efforts in this direction. As far as tourism is concerned, we have the same situation. The cultural ties are excellent and our wish is to enhance them further. Therefore, we have allotted a substantial budget for the Cervantes Institute.

The investments are a big exam we have failed. I am aware that there are big Spanish companies that wish to come here. They have the technologies and the capital but have not undertaken the necessary steps yet. I think that if one of these big companies wins a substantial contract in Bulgaria, this will serve as a stimulus for other companies too and will lead to regular investments on behalf of Spain here.

Do you think Bulgaria will join the European Union on January 1, 2007? In your opinion, will the government crisis affect the membership, which is so important to our country?
I can\'t know what will happen after a year and a half. But I can affirm that on our part we have set ourselves the task to work seriously in order to support Bulgaria and in order that it becomes an actual member of the European Union in 2007. We hope that Bulgaria will also do its best so that the help of its partners serves to achieve this goal. There is still plenty of time. Bulgaria works hard to adapt its structures, laws and systems to the requirements of the EU and I believe that if you keep up this earnestness your country has to receive the chance to become a full member on January 1, 2007. The earlier Bulgaria enters the European Union, the better it will be for you and for Europe as a whole.

As regards the forming of the government, I heard various opinions about the methods through which it was formed. I completely disagree with the criticism to the political parties on how much they delayed the achievement of an agreement on forming the government. I am certain that this is the way to do it – the steps were clear, the people gave the mandate through its vote. They form the parliament. We know that as a result of the elections the parliament has a complex membership. The political parties started to work with the data that the people had given them in this parliament. And they did what should be done in a democracy. This was a huge exercise in democracy. There were negotiations and an agreement was reached on forming a government, which couldn\'t be but a coalition since none of the parties had a majority to rule on its own.

Today Bulgaria has its democratic government. It is the outcome of a process which lasted almost two months but I think that the time was spent in a proper way. These things happen in many countries of old democratic traditions and under circumstances similar to these in Bulgaria. What is important is to come to an agreement and to observe the democratic rules in the process. This is what you did here and I think that Europe, and Spain in particular, assesses quite positively the way in which the political parties worked to reach agreement on the government. I think that this should evoke respect for this country and that the negotiation process we witnessed is a red point for Bulgaria.

You presented a rich cultural program for 2005. A specific accent was the congress “400 years since the first edition of Don Quixote. A panorama of poetic art in Spain”. What does Don Quixote give us today?
Do you know what attracts my attention? After 400 years, a work as Cervantes\'s is still so topical! Firstly because of its literary merits, but most of all because of the human dignity that Don Quixote bears. We live in a society ruled by pragmatism, everybody is in a hurry, the people are subjected to great pressure, we often forget about the human values, we live in a way that brings us little joy. This thwarts generosity, humanness, nobility, imagination and fantasy – qualities that should serve us as therapy in these modern societies, which we are building and which we want to be stable, healthy, but this always has its side effects that make us less humane. And it is exactly these effects that we are fighting, because we have to try to live better in the material aspect but at the same time to develop the human side in every one of us. Without this, the materialism will drive us to despair or depression. Don Quixote gives us a very good example of human values, which nobody can renounce or deny.

How are the relations between Bulgaria and Spain in the field of culture developing?
Very well. We are implementing programs that you cover. Every year we arrange a couple of concerts, we have big exhibitions and conferences, colloquia. We intend to keep working just as intensively. In Madrid they understand this well and they grant us the necessary funds. In a couple of months in the halls of the Cervantes Institute we will be able to carry out more ideas since we will have a big hall suitable for cinema, theater, exhibitions and other smaller halls for accompanying events, as well as classrooms for Spanish language courses. This will make us much more flexible and will facilitate the intensification of the cultural relations.

Do you have time for your family? What are your favorite spare time activities? Do you like traveling around the country, what places have you already visited and which are you planning to visit?
I have time for everything. We have to make the best use of these 24 hours of the day. Sofia makes things easier because it is a very pleasant city. I enjoy being at home with my wife – we exchange impressions, read and watch TV. Of course we also seize other opportunities: to ski, to play golf (there are two golf courses quite near Sofia), to swim, to hike in the mountains. Your capital city offers great opportunities. I love walking with my wife Patricia\'s dog in the old part of the city, to see the streets, the shops, the monuments, which are a proof of your interesting history and add a wonderful flavor to these walks.

Varna was a great discovery. A gorgeous city, I would like to go back to. We have also been in Troyan, Veliko Tarnovo and Plovdiv. We loved a trip to the village of Kovachevitsa in the southern part of the country. We stayed in Leshten – it is a beautiful region! Bulgaria has many beautiful places and I hope that soon, when the road infrastructure improves, it will be much easier to get to them. The European funds will support you in this.