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BUCHAREST: Joining NATO is no small deal for Balkan candidates Romania and Bulgaria, but while many eagerly await the Western bloc as a saviour, others fear membership will bring disaster.
Most Romanians have pinned all hope for prosperity and stability on NATO, but in neighbouring Bulgaria some worry joining the military pact means doom — radiation, pollution and even volcanic eruptions.
Bulgaria’s tiny southern village of Zmeyovo has lived in fear since a decision to destroy some 100 Soviet-made missiles a few miles away as part of Sofia’s NATO entry obligations.
“It could well be a second Chernobyl. We may not be able to breathe the air and drink the water,” said Nitsa Georgieva.
The government of Prime Minister Simeon Saxe-Coburg, Bulgaria’s former king who won elections in June 2001, has set joining NATO and the European Union as top policy goals.
Sofia, once the Soviet Union’s closest ally, has pledged to destroy the missiles before NATO’s November summit in Prague, where Bulgaria and Romania hope to win invitations after being left out of a first enlargement round.
The Romanian government has tied its political fate to NATO membership, saying failure “equals death”.
Polls show that while more than 80 per cent of Romania’s 22 million people back NATO entry, only half of Bulgaria’s eight million support it, compared to 75 per cent for the European Union.
HUMILIATING CUTS: Bulgarians say NATO-required reforms, including cuts in the armed forces which will fuel high unemployment, are humiliating for a country proud of its victories in two world wars.
“Armed forces (45,000) equalling the number of seats at the national soccer stadium, one airworthy MiG-29 (fighter) and no money to buy fuel for the few remaining tanks — do you call it an army?” said Georgi Vesselinov, 35-year-old Sofia resident.
Bulgaria signed a deal with Washington in May to destroy its arsenal of SS-23, Scud and Frog missiles by the end of October. The Russian-made missiles were also supplied to East Germany, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, but were destroyed.
But pledges by the United States and Bulgarian Defence Ministry to guarantee safety and environmental protection have so far failed to calm people’s fears that the destruction may cause radiation leaks, activate ancient volcanoes and lead to earthquakes.
Concern has spread to the rest of the country, raising questions of whether NATO was worth the cost.
Romania and Bulgaria, which recently decided to join forces in getting into Western blocs, say membership would help stabilize a region still reeling from a decade of wars in former Yugoslavia and encourage foreign investment.
Washington’s shift in priorities after the September 11 attacks on the US and warmer ties between Russia and the West may allow for a sweeping expansion of NATO in which up to seven ex-communist states may be invited to join in November.
COVETED NATO TICKET: While Bulgarians doubt that joining NATO would boost incomes and create jobs in one of Europe’s poorest corners, to the north and across the river Danube, Romanians say their government is not doing enough to win the coveted NATO ticket.
Brussels had urged Romania to wait for a common EU position in September, but Bucharest, bending over backwards to please the US, said it saw no reason to delay.—Reuters
