Russian PM: Bulgaria 'Worse Off' after Joining EU

Bulgaria is a negative example in terms of economic development after its EU accession, Russia's Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev believes.

"After entering the EU in 2007, in 6 years unemployment has increased from 6.9% to 11.8%. Foreign investment has shrunk nine times within the same period (from EUR 9.051 B to EUR 1.092 B). And are these countries anyhow worse than Ukraine, for instance [they are] comparable in terms of development and natural and climate conditions,"  Medvedev wrote in an article (titled Ukraine: Life under New Rules) for Russian daily Nezavisimaya Gazeta on Sunday.

Medvedev is referring to a few states in Eastern Europe that have become EU members over the past few years.

In his words, for Kiev "it is worth to have a look at the experience of its southwestern neighbors [i.e. Bulgaria and other countries from Southeast Europe] which entered into the EU after all. It should assess what has changed in their economies, if their GDP has subsequently increased, how the population's income has grown or dipped and what unemployment dynamics are. And most of all, if much foreign investment has flowed into them," Medvedev argues.

Russia's top officials have been lambasting at Bulgaria for a couple of weeks over its decision not to unblock construction of the South Stream gas pipeline, a stance which subsequently led the project to its demise.