Political Turmoil Imperils Bulgaria's 2018 EU Presidency

"The Bulgarian EU presidency is a way to attract attention to the [Balkan] region," Meglena Kuneva, Bulgaria's deputy prime minister in charge of European policies said on Tuesday as she presented the logo for the country's six-month presidency of the European Council, which will start on January 1, 2018.

The logo combines three traditional Bulgarian elements - letters from the Cyrillic alphabet, traditional Bulgarian embroidery and the three colours of the country's national flag - white, green and red.

Kuneva said that during its presidency, which will be the first in Bulgaria's ten-year membership of the EU, one of the main priorities would be the economy and the European single market.

"If something distinguishes us, this would be the digital economy, because this truly is the future of Europe," the deputy prime minister said, adding that the energy market, science and migration policies would also be at the top of Bulgaria's agenda.

Following the Brexit referendum in July last year, Britain decided not to take up its EU presidency in the second half of 2017. As a result, Bulgaria faced the challenge of leading the European Council for the first time at short notice and in turbulent times.

The country's governmental crisis, caused by the resignation of Boyko Borissov's cabinet in November 2016, has further complicated the preparations for the presidency, as a lot of the work will have to be delegated to a caretaker government which will be appointed after the inauguration of Bulgaria's new President Rumen Radev on January 22.

Experts have expressed fears that political instability, both in Bulgaria and in the European bloc as a whole, and the tight deadlines could undermine the success of Bulgaria's first EU presidency.

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