Nationalism in Bulgaria may impact EP vote

Nationalism in Bulgaria may impact EP vote

Education and suppressing hate speech are the ways to fight xenophobia in Bulgaria, experts say.

The issue of Syrian refugees is helping to fuel nationalist attitudes by some in Bulgaria. [AFP]

A wave of nationalism, fuelled by a flow of Syrian refugees, integration of the Roma community and Russia's interference with Ukraine, is expected to have an effect on Bulgaria's European Parliament vote on Sunday (May 25th).

The situation has provided a fruitful terrain for nationalist movements and parties, including the Ataka party, which is represented in the parliament, as well as the National Front for the Salvation of Bulgaria, and some newcomers like the Bulgaria Without Censorship party, which has allied with the country's oldest nationalist party, the Bulgarian Nationalist Movement.

Although nationalist movements and parties are unlikely to gain substantial representation in the EP, their influence is extremely negative.

"We are talking about 10 percent of all voters at most, but nationalist messages and hate speech set a negative tone for the whole media environment," Dimitar Bechev, senior policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, told SETimes.

He added that in many cases "the prosecution and the court fail to apply the criminal code" to punish such speech or actions.

Nationalism and xenophobia have been rising not only in Bulgaria, but in Europe as a whole. The reasons have had to do with the financial crisis, the wave of immigrants looking for better lives in the more developed part of the continent and the lack of perspective of many of its citizens.

A recent case of four Syrian refugee families being banished from a...