We present to you a special interview with one of the most influential contemporary economists – Jeffrey Sachs, prepared exclusively for Poslepis Publishing House.
By Anastasia Gesheva and Ivaylo Zafirov
In your opinion, what are the main challenges facing the economies of Eastern European countries today and what economic policies could most effectively create sustainable economic growth in the region, which is of key importance to Europe, especially given the fact that the busiest land trade corridor, after the US-Mexico one, passes through Bulgaria?
All regions of the world share the same fundamental economic challenges, including: quality education for all, promoting advanced science and technology, transitioning to green energy, implementing digital technologies, adapting to ongoing climate change, and creating quality jobs and investments in business. None of this is specific to Bulgaria or any other place, but it is also essential for Bulgaria’s well-being. Fundamentally, these goals need to be pursued at different levels of governance – from local (individual cities), through national, to European and global governance. Part of the strategy of every economy is to connect with its neighbors and use the advantages of geography – in Bulgaria’s case, including the Black Sea (for resources, wind energy, transport, tourism, etc.).
Unfortunately, the war in Ukraine is destroying this very strategy, turning the Black Sea into a war zone instead of a source of economic benefits. The big mistake was America’s – the attempt to expand NATO to Ukraine and Georgia with the idea of dominating Russia in the Black Sea region. A much better strategy would have been – and still could be – cooperation with Russia and joint investments with it in the Black Sea region. In short, Europe’s biggest mistake is to confront Russia instead of cooperating with it. From a security perspective, Europe and Russia need to return to mutual respect, collective security, peace, an end to sanctions regimes and positive joint investments. Unfortunately, Germany, the Baltic states and Poland, which dominate EU policies, have chosen the opposite in recent years.
After your successful predictions about the emerging polycentric (multipolar) world, the decline of Western civilization and the upcoming upheavals in the search for a new world order, which vision is unfolding more and more intensively and we are on the eve of the Third World War, we should ask you what awaits us. What is your forecast for the political and economic development of Eastern Europe over the next 5-10 years in the context of growing geopolitical tensions, the transformation of the global economy and the increasingly deteriorating relations between the great powers, which are often like spears directed by the deep state and secret societies in the name of global Zionism – for one state, one religion, one culture?
The US must change course and end its attempts at hegemony. It must also demand that Israel change course. The US must support the creation of a Palestinian state alongside Israel, as provided for by international law. Europe must free itself from its misguided Russophobia and restore effective cooperation with Russia in a peaceful manner.
You had advised Bulgaria to join the eurozone. On January 1st of this year, this became a fact, but at the cost of enormous public discontent and resistance. The Bulgarian people do not want the euro, but they were denied a voice. What do you think now about our membership in the eurozone and, moreover, what do you think overall about the state and future of the European Monetary Mechanism? How do you think the geopolitical process is affecting the European Union and especially the common European currency?
Europe’s big problem is not the euro, but its disastrous dependence on the US, its economic rift (and sanctions regime) with Russia; its lack of a coherent policy towards the Middle East: the need to recognise Palestine and demand an end to Israeli impunity; the need to make peace with Iran and end the wars in the Middle East; and the current inconsistency in Europe’s policy towards China. Europe (and Bulgaria) needs to be open and cooperative towards China, with bilateral trade, financing, joint ventures and partnerships between the EU’s Global Gateway and China’s Belt and Road Initiatives.
In your opinion, what geopolitical role can Bulgaria have in the near future, given its exceptional and historically determined geographical position as a bridge between Europe and Asia, between East and West, between Russia and Europe, given the specific realities with the collapse of the previous West-centric centuries-old order?
Bulgaria should join Slovakia, Hungary, Spain, Belgium, and others in calling for a new EU foreign policy built on restored relations with Russia, peace in Ukraine, a two-state solution in the Middle East, and cooperation with China. All of this would be much more beneficial to Bulgaria and the EU as a whole than the current misguided approach based on the ongoing war in Ukraine and deepening dependence on the United States.