I’m pleased to notice a great political and financial assistance of the EU to Montenegro, amounting to €53 million right now, of which €3 million has been earmarked to support the healthcare system, while €50 million for carrying out the economic and social measures, Bulgaria’s Ambassador to Montenegro, Ms Meglena Plougtchieva-Aleksandrova, told in an interview for Dan daily.
Here are the highlights of the interview with the Ambassador…
What is the situation now in Bulgaria regarding the spread of the coronavirus? Did the worst pass?
Bulgaria is one of the countries that responded to the outbreak at an early phase and undertook all the necessary measures. It established the National Committee in early March, while the government introduced strict measures for social exclusion, closing public institutions dealing with food and all schools on 8 March.
The measures were even stricter afterwards, similar to the ones imposed in Montenegro, which resulted in a gradual increase in the number of infected people and rather low death toll. As of 22 April, Bulgaria records 1.015 coronavirus cases, 47 fatalities, while 174 people recovered. Meanwhile, some general decisions on the economic and social support were put in place, and the parliament approved all of them.
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Has the pandemic caused some difficulties in your everyday job?
You might consider it strange, but Bulgaria’s Embassy in Podgorica has been monitoring the situation from the end of January, when some Asian nationals sought visas in order to be able to travel to Bulgaria.
The Embassy staff is working from home since 16 March, but is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week as one can contact us via phone or e-mail. We’re a small team, but well connected and doing our job responsibly. We have established good communication with all Montenegrin institutions during this period, especially with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. We get all the necessary information and assistance, and I’d like to thank our Montenegrin partners.
Do you believe that the world showed unity and solidary in this difficult time?
It’s obvious that Europe was late in the overall response and coordination at the start of the coronavirus outbreak. National governments acted individually at first, each one in line with the situation in their own countries. After that follows a range of comments of the leading health workers and scientists who blamed Europe for underestimating the situation and failing to react on time. The pandemic has caused serious situation in countries that are well prepared and equipped in terms of economy and medicine, but there was an interesting comment saying that all of them, contrary to east Europe, haven’t faced the crisis for a long time and were quite surprised with it. Being the Bulgarian Ambassador to Montenegro, it’s important to say that Bulgaria reacts quickly, and with personal assistance of deputy prime minister and foreign affairs minister, Ms Ekaterina Zaharieva, it is speeding up the initiation of new projects in the Western Balkans, including Montenegro, that are endorsed by the Bulgarian government and funded through the Official Development Assistance.
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What do you think about the response of the WB institutions to the coronavirus outbreak? Did they take all the necessary measures?
It’s a good question, but as an ambassador, I’m not eligible to estimate the reactions of the governments from the countries of the region. According to available data, not only the EU member states, but the countries from the region as well, reacted individually, focusing on the national interest and protection of their citizens. It’s important to stress that the EU has been committed to providing financial assistance to all WB countries, while the govts of those countries are certainly giving their best to respond to this challenge.
I can congratulate Montenegro for showing solidarity in this difficult situation and choosing not to close its ports and borders thus guaranteeing trade with neighboring countries. As for the measures, I can comment on the situation here, in Montenegro, and voice my satisfaction with quick, adequate and timely decisions of the govt and the National Coordination Body.
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