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Dnevnik Daily
July 2, 2009
Nancy McEldowney: The New Government Should Tackle Corruption Immediately
Ambassador McEldowney, at your hearing before the Congress, the then Senator Obama urged you to work aggressively against corruption and organized crime in Bulgaria. Do you think you have fulfilled that task in the last 11 months when you served as the U.S. Ambassador to Bulgaria?
I can certainly say that efforts to try to deal with these problems have been made - both by the Bulgarian government and by the U.S. government. Yet we are not judged by how hard we work, we are judged by the results we produce, and the latter is what really matters. Efforts have been made but progress is insufficient. Promises made are one thing, promises kept are another.
Here, I’d like to make an important point - corruption exists everywhere around the world, including in the United States. The key question is what mechanisms have been established to fight corruption, and whether corruption can be indentified and dealt with so that the impact it has on the society, economy, and politics can be minimized.
The new government that will be formed after the election will have the opportunity and the real responsibility to take on the issue of corruption and OC. According to me, it can do that by laying out an explicit strategy of what it plans to do and the timeline in which it will do it. It should make its strategy public so that the media and the citizens can hold the government accountable for its deeds.
Of course curbing corruption does not happen overnight. There is no “silver bullet” against it. The solution is: hard, persistent, and focused efforts, as well as regular reporting on what has been accomplished.
Can we expect to have a stable government given that there have been numerous reports of vote buying and corporate voting?
In a few days the Bulgarians will decide who they want to govern the country. We should wait and see how the negotiations on the composition of the new government will go.
As far as vote buying and corporate voting is concerned – the U.S. government has always been very clear that it is not its business to get involved in partisan issues. We don’t promote a specific party and we don’t promote a particular candidate. However, as a country which is committed to a better future for Bulgaria and to building cooperation between Sofia and Washington, we do care about principles and we do care about the election process. We were very troubled to see the reports of vote buying and other inappropriate types of voting during the elections for European Parliament. We very much hope that this won’t be the case at the national elections. That was why we supported so strongly the Integrity Pact, and why we were pleased with the adoption of a new legislation which addressed some of those issues, but not all of them.
Things like vote buying are very troubling at various levels. They are bad for the people who sell their votes because they give up their voice. They are also bad for the parties who buy the votes because they undermine the legitimacy of everyone who’s involved in this process.
Tell us something about your new appointment
The Bureau for European and Eurasian Affairs I’ll be working for is responsible for all European countries, including Russia, as well as NATO, the EU, and OSCE. I have been honored to be offered that position but I accepted the new appointment with mixed feelings because I’m very sad to leave Bulgaria. Firstly, because my family and I felt at home in Bulgaria, and secondly, because I was able to launch several projects which should continue without me, and I like to complete what I have started.
One of those projects is an initiative we started with the Bulgarian government - it is an EITI (Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative) initiative on transparency in energy. The person who runs this project is Peter Eigen, who is the founder of Transparency International, too. This program exists in a number of countries which produce energy, but we decided to expand this energy transparency program from countries that produce energy to countries that transit energy. That was why Peter Eigen came to Bulgaria at the Energy Summit held at the end of April and held talks with representatives of the Bulgarian government on the realization on this initiative. We are now talking to organizations like the World Bank to secure funding for this project. The next government will have to decide whether it will continue working on it.
How are you planning to work for boosting Europe’s energy independence at your new post?
Energy is a key issue both in terms of the U.S.–Bulgarian bilateral relations and in terms of the whole European continent. That’s why what we are trying to do here is finding a multilateral approach towards this issue. We should make efforts to guarantee energy supplies and to enhance the transparency of the whole process. Naturally, Russia is a key player in this process.
Many regard the energy issue as a zero sum equation – you are either “for” America, diversification of sources, and against Russia, or visa versa – “against” the U.S. and “for” Russia. This approach is simplistic and wrong. Europe needs Russian energy. Currently Russia fulfills a great part of the Old Continent’s energy needs, and we want those supplies to continue, but we want to engage Russia on a variety of issues – energy, regional stability, and the democratization of Russia itself.
What do you think about the idea of having Gazprom and Overgaz build a monopoly over the gas supplies for Bulgaria and eliminate the other players on the market?
In Bulgaria there are what is called intermediary companies which represent the interests of international companies or organizations that don’t actually exist in this country because they are registered off-shore or they only have limited liability. I am not personally for one company and against another company, but I am for full transparency and accountability. For example, if a certain contract is interrupted in the course of a certain period of time, the respective companies should be held legally responsible.
Having a monopoly supplier creates vulnerabilities, and that’s why we have advocated not just for Bulgaria but for all other European countries to look for alternative transit routes.
What is your comment on the fact that despite the widespread perception that there is a setback in terms of democracy in Bulgaria, the U.S. has withdrawn its support for democratic processes in this country?
I know that according to many Bulgarians, U.S. support for Bulgaria has gone down after the USAID phase-out. As you know, during the years in which the Agency worked here, the American government spent over USD 650 million in assistance for Bulgaria. But we are not gone. USAID has reduced its presence here, but there are a number of important programs. We have an AID Development Counselor here at the Embassy who is in charge of a public-private partnership program. We started with Information Technology because it will help the Bulgarian economy, and also because it will increase transparency in public life. We set up the America for Bulgaria Foundation which operates with profits from the Bulgarian-American Enterprise Fund which existed during the time of USAID in Bulgaria. The Foundation has several hundred million dollars and supports projects in the field of democracy building, civil society, cultural development, etc. A number of organizations which are funded by the U.S. Government such as the Marshall Fund continue to operate in Bulgaria. We should not forget also the AUBG and the American College in Sofia which were set up with the support of the United States.
Can we expect a Presidential visit to Bulgaria in the news future?
I certainly would not rule this out. The President has been very busy so far but his administration has been very clear about the fact that this part of the world is a priority. That’s why Vice President Joe Biden paid a visit to the Balkans recently. So let’s wait and see what might be possible.
What are the most recent developments around Bulgaria’s aspiration to join the VWP?
First of all, I want to dismiss the widespread misperception that this program is a magic tool that will radically change the situation that exists at the moment. The truth is that the vast majority of Bulgarians who wish to travel to the United States do so. Every week hundreds of people come to the Embassy and get there visas without any problem. However, the VWP has a symbolic significance because it demonstrates that the U.S. borders are open for Bulgarians.
Let me say a few boring facts about this program – there are legislative criteria that have to be made so that this program can come into force, for example - the introduction of electronic passports. Another criterion is the refusal rate. Bulgaria has to drop the refusal rate below 10%. Currently it is around 15-16%. Yet, there are debates in the Congress on whether the required refusal rate should be set at 3% again.