Ivaylo Kalfin: EU Must Focus Beyond Fiscal Indicators

Ivaylo Kalfin is a Bulgarian socialist member of European Parliament and a former Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister (2005-2009).

In the European Elections 2014, Kalfin will lead the list of the newly-formed Alternative for Bulgarian Revival (ABV) movement, of former President Georgi Parvanov.

Mr. Kalfin spoke to Novinite.com about the upcoming election campaign, the challenges for the European Union, and the crisis in Ukraine.

What will ABV's strategy for the European elections campaign be? What sort of a tone will you lead?

We will try to direct the dialogue towards the essence of these elections – Bulgaria's representatives in the European Parliament (EP). The most important issue is what Bulgaria wants to achieve, what it can achieve, and how it can use the available European instruments effectively for the purpose, in order to improve the life of its citizens.

Do Bulgarians know the European Union and its institutions well enough and are they aware of what they will vote for in the upcoming elections?

I doubt there is anywhere in Europe somebody who knows in depth all of the EU institutions, even those of their own country. However, my view is that Bulgarians have a strong interest in what the EU is doing, as well as expectations from it.

Unfortunately, some politicians form their campaigns around the lack of knowledge of the citizens. They promise to go to the EP and raise pensions, salaries, open new jobs, and offer free healthcare. This is absurd, because the EU does not have these functions. In this sense, it is important to understand the...