On 27 June, 2003 the Bulgarian Defense and Staff College hosted
the first of a series of lectures delivered by foreign
lecturers to senior staff from the security forces. The lectures
organized by the Center for the Study of Democracy will
focus on issues related to good governance in the context of the
new security threats. Mr. Roderick Moore, Deputy Chief of Mission
at the U.S. Embassy in Sofia put forward the U.S. government’s
perspective on bilateral partnership development and the problems
Bulgaria needs to tackle.
Mr. Moore, who also served at the U.S. Embassy in
Bulgaria in the early 1990s, noted that bilateral relations have
evolved in fundamental ways in the last decade. At the start of
transition the country was at the periphery of strategic U.S.
interests, but in the aftermath of 9/11 and Bulgaria’s entry in the
global war against terrorism it is regarded as a key partner to the
USA.
The two foremost problematic areas are organized
crime and corruption, since they undermine public confidence and
deform the economy. Roderick Moore pointed out that money
counterfeiting, human trafficking and trade in dual-use goods are
all chief sources of financing for criminal groups and that
criminals are also assisted by corrupt civil servants and
prosecutors.
In response to questions by General Staff members,
the audience at the Defense and Staff College and reporters, Mr.
Moor stated that the U.S. government does not underestimate the
social reforms underway and Bulgaria should not be confronted with
the choice to carry out social reforms or combat terrorism.
Commenting on the status of the International
Criminal Court and the two countries’ divergent positions on the
subject, Mr. Moore said bilateral relations will not be compromised
and that U.S. government expects to sign an agreement regulating
the exclusion of U.S. and Bulgarian nationals from the Court’s
jurisdiction. As Bulgaria backs up EU position on the issue, Mr.
Moore affirmed that the USA does not oppose, but, on the contrary,
supports Bulgaria in its course to full EU membership since its
future stability would guarantee a further stabilization in the
region.
Media coverage(in Bulgarian only)
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