“Democracy That Delivers” Highlights Transitions in Bulgaria,
Western Balkans
USAID/Bulgaria and the Center for the Study of Democracy (CSD) organized an international conference in Sofia on May 21, 2008 entitled “Democracy That Delivers: Unlocking the Potential of Transition.” The conference brought together civil society and government representatives from Bulgaria, as well as Albania, Bosnia, Croatia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, and Serbia. It is the latest major public event sponsored by USAID/Bulgaria prior to the Mission closing in September 2008.
Keynote speakers were former USAID Administrator Andrew Natsios, former U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Ambassador A. Elizabeth Jones, U.S. Ambassador to Bulgaria John Beyrle, Minister of European Affairs Gergana Grancharova, Norwegian Ambassador Tove Skarstein, and Financial Times International Affairs Editor Quentin Peel.
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| Former USAID Administrator Andrew Natsios delivers a keynote speech to participants from Bulgaria and the western Balkans region at the “Democracy That Delivers” conference. |
Panelists from Croatia, Albania, Kosovo, Macedonia, Serbia and Bulgaria discussed the roles of international assistance, European Union (EU) integration, and civil society in the democratic reform processes in the western Balkans. Conference participants had the opportunity to forge new contacts with counterparts from neighboring countries.
Speakers discussed the extent to which democracy has come to be taken for granted in some post-transition countries even as citizens grow disenchanted with government institutions and civil society organizations face challenges to their existence. Ambassador Beyrle’s remarks included a few words of caution. “Democracy is not just something you believe in; democracy is something you must participate in, and if you stop participating, democracy crumbles.”
Natsios and other speakers noted that Bulgaria’s successful transition and remaining challenges offer important lessons for other countries in the region. On the topic of how EU accession affects democratic reforms, Peel said that after covering the European Union as a correspondent in Brussels he came to appreciate the organization’s high level of transparency and democracy alongside the bureaucracy. He added that new member states bring a new dynamism to the organization despite the “indigestion” suffered by long-standing member states about its expansion.
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