My papers

"Bulgaria's Nuclear Football" By Ariel Cohen

Ariel Cohen, Director, Center for Energy, Natural Resources and Geopolitics (CENRG) and Senior Fellow at the Institute for the Analysis of Global Security (IAGS)

Recent statement by Russian President Vladimir Putin to cancel the $20 billion South Stream natural gas pipeline and build a natural gas hub on the Turkish-Greek border instead, is another example how energy has become a geopolitical “football” between Russia and the West. Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman made the feelings of Kremlin apparent when he said that Russia will deliver the gas elsewhere and “those who ‘buried’ this project should calculate the consequences.” Last week, Energy Ministers of Bulgaria, Hungary, Slovenia, Austria, Croatia, Italy, Greece, and Romania met with the EU Energy Commissioner to discuss the implications of South Stream cancelation and to ask him “to clarify” the status of the project with Putin. In the meantime, Vladimir Chizhov, Russian Permanent Representative to the EU, said "the project is closed now" and pointed out that all South Stream negotiations were done directly with member states, implying that at this point discussion with the EU is futile.

NATO Out-of-the-Box vs. the BRICS-SCO System: The Rising World Order

Invited publication by: NATO Newcomers No More
To be published in December 2014 by:
International Relations Research Institute (Warsaw)
Jagello 2000 NATO Info Center (Prague)
Latvian Institute of International Affairs (Riga)
Atlantic Treaty Association (Brussels)

1. Preface The previous version of this Out-of-the-Box Strategy, OoB, contributed to the brainstorming of the 2010 NATO Strategic Concept. The ten or so suggestions for NATO political upgrade and global socialization leading to its adaptation to the next two decades remained, however, a mere academic exercise for various trans-Atlantic conferences. In 2014, the Ukrainian--Russian crisis overlapped with the emergence of what became known as Islamic State (ISIS) in the Middle East following the wave of Arab Spring revolutions, proving thereby the adequacy of this pre-emptive OoB action plan.

VISEGRAD IN THE BALKANS, OR WHY WE NEED A B5 GROUP

(published in 24 Hours daily newspaper, Sofia, April 4, 2014)
You can read the article here: http://www.24chasa.bg/Article.asp?ArticleId=3927875

Lyubomir Kyuchukov, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria (2005-2009) Solomon Passy, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria (2001-2005) The unthinkable yesterday proves a necessity today. History is full of such paradoxes A region-wide cooperation in the Balkans - some 20 years ago this idea was considered utopian.

WHY IS THE WEST FAILING IN ITS RELATIONS WITH RUSSIA? AND WHY NOT ALWAYS?

BRIEFLY, ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Dr. Solomon Passy was Bulgarian Minister for Foreign Affairs (2001-2005). In that capacity he negotiated and signed Bulgaria's accessions to NATO (2002-2004) and the EU (2005). Back in 1990, as MP in the then Constituent National Assembly he was the one to propose that Bulgaria should renounce her membership in the Warsaw Pact and join NATO and the EU. In 1990-91 and 2001-2009 he was MP and chaired the parliamentary committees on foreign affairs and defence. In 2002 and 2003 he was Chair of the UN Security Council, and in 2004, as Chairman-in-Office of OSCE he launched a broad organizational reform programme. In 2009, the Bulgarian government nominated him for the position of NATO Secretary-General.

Dr. Passy has a PhD in Mathematical Logic and Computer Science. From 2008 to date, Solomon and Gergana Passy have successfully been campaigning for a universal GSM charger in EU and have initiated the all-Europe access to Wi-Fi.

This article of Dr. Passy will be published in the latest official ATA publication entitled 'Securing Our World' in coordination with the 2014 NATO Summit in Wales. You can download the e-issue of the document here:
http://www.ata-sec.org/homepage-main-news/537-securing-our-world

Following the adoption of Christianity from Bulgaria in 988 AD, Orthodox faith had been introduced in Kievan Rus under the guidance of the Bulgarian clergy through three channels of communication: the formal language of church service (Old Bulgarian), the formal state religion (Orthodox) and the formal national alphabet (the Cyrillic alphabet, another name for the Bulgarian alphabet). Consequently, as early as 10c contemporary Bulgarians and the Volga-Kama Bulghars who had adopted Islam had already embarked upon close yet complex relations with Russia, intertwining the evident interaction of common cultural and religious elements with ferocious conflicts and wars for dominance. The Bulgarians had obviously become aware of the need to maintain strong links with Russia at a very early stage, not least owing to the historic experience of the two Bulgarian states, one of which collapsed squeezed between the Mongol and Russian imperial powers. It was just as obvious that good mutual understanding with the big state of Russia would depend on keeping a respectful distance, albeit that was sometimes inadvertently narrowed in scope or even destroyed by historic trials and tribulations. Her present-day geopolitical position allowed Bulgaria to introduce into the European Union two of her communication channels with Russia, the alphabet and the language which is expected to improve the West-Russia dialogue.

Solomon Passy: Interim Cabinet Can Do Much in Foreign Policy Area

Cut version published on Novinite.com on August 8, 2014

The caretaker cabinet could kickstart policies that could determine the country’s relationship with its EU partners in the years to come, Solomon Passy has said. In an opinion piece made available to Novinite.com Bulgaria’s ex-foreign minister said that the cabinet has tools at its disposal to pursue several key tasks. To start with, the cabinet could rename the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to Ministry of Foreign and European Policies to highlight the importance Bulgaria attaches to formulating common policies as member of the EU. The rotating EU presidency which Bulgaria will hold in July-December 2018, is a key challenge.

Passy supports Verhofstadt

GUY VERHOFSTADT PRIME MINISTER OF BELGIUM (1999-2008) CHAIR OF ALDE GROUP IN THE EP (2009- )

"10 Years in NATO - Ten Years Ahead"

Keynote Speech by Dr Gerlinde Niehus, Head Engagements Section, NATO Public Diplomacy Division, Bulgaria 28 March 2014

Esteemed Presidents, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, Thank you for that warm welcome. It’s a great pleasure to speak at this distinguished gathering dedicated to the 10th anniversary of Bulgaria’s membership of NATO. Let me start by congratulating the Government, the Parliament and the people of Bulgaria, on reaching this important milestone – and the Bulgarian Transatlantic Society for putting this high caliber event together. When the Cold War ended, NATO Allies faced an historic opportunity.

Extract with the Proposed Amendments of the Bulgarian Law on Medicinal Products

Art. 217a. (1) Export of medicinal products from Bulgarian territory can be carried out by juridical entities and individuals, who have a WDL for medicinal products or holder of manufacturing authorization. (2) Holder of a manufacturing authorization can perform export only for the produced by itself pharmaceutical products. (3) For the purposes of this Chapter, exports are and intra-Community supply in the European Union.

The Smart-government of Bulgaria 2013-2023: Now is the Time!

"Trud" Newspaper, 29 May, 2013

Power and government are only important as instruments for reforms and improvement. In Bulgaria as well as in the EU, NATO or all over the world. In 1990 the Founding Fathers of the Atlantic Club suggested the two main priorities for Bulgaria – NATO and EU membership. A consensus was slowly reached and we gradually accomplished them in 2002 and 2004 (NATO), and 2005 and 2007 (EU). Today, 23 years after 1990 and 6 years after 2007, there is still no consensus on a new national cause for our future development: either in the framework of the EU, or in NATO, or in the region, or outside the Euro-Atlantic family, where there is an ocean of opportunities.

Smart-Regierung von Bulgarien 2013-2023 – die Zeit ist schon gekommen

"Trud" Zeitung, 29. Mai 2013, Im Deutsch

Die politische Macht und Regierung sind wichtig nur als Werkzeug fchr(252)r Reformen und Weiterentwicklung, sowohl in Bulgarien, als auch in der EU, der NATO und chr(252)berall in der Welt. Die Grchr(252)nder von Atlantic Club haben im Jahr 1990 die beiden wichtigsten Prioritchr(228)ten fchr(252)r Bulgarien, nchr(228)mlich der Beitritt zur NATO und EU, vorgeschlagen. Wir haben diese Ziele stufenweise in den Jahren 2002 und 2004 (NATO) und 2005 und 2007 (EU) erreicht. Heutzutage, 23 Jahre nach 1990 und 6 Jahre nach 2007, gibt es keinen Konsensus chr(252)ber eine neue nationale Idee fchr(252)r unsere zukchr(252)nftige Entwicklung, weder in der EU, noch der NATO, noch der Region oder auchr(223)erhalb des euro-atlantischen Familie, wenn es eigentlich ein Meer von Mchr(246)glichkeiten gibt. Bulgarien hat keine neue Richtung, genauer gesagt sie hat chr(252)berhaupt keine Richtung.

Open Letter to Mrs Viviane Reding, the European Commissioner for Justice, Fundamental Rights and Citizenship

By Solomon Passy and Gergana Passy, September 5th, 2012

Mrs Viviane Reding Vice-President/ European Commission/ Justice, Fundamental Rights and Citizenship September 5th, 2012 Dear Commissioner Reding:

Tribute to Neil Armstrong

By Solomon Passy

Neil Armstrong – the first man to step on the Moon, died Saturday, 25 August, at the age of 82. The American astronaut takes the lead in the pantheon of the people dedicated their lives to the exploration of the Outer Space so as to make it a common possession to mankind. His memorable words: “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind”, pronounced on 20 July 1969 moments after his descent from Apollo 11 on the lunar surface, clearly illustrate the transition to a new era in science and technology development. The epochal achievement of Neil Armstrong inspired lots of generations and encouraged millions of people not to be afraid to strive for their dreams. He demonstrated how even the „small step“, being the outcome of steady pursuit of the aims, aspiration and longing, can turn into a remarkable and significant human progress.

Annex to the corpus in memory of Isaac Passy

By Peter-Emil Mitev

He accepted only one reliable criteria of the accomplished by the creator – historical time. It can’t be questioned, but it can be said that only significant authors remember this. And more. New generations, which are going to be born and raised in Еuropean Bulgaria, will have the opportunity to value the creative work of a man, who did so much to europeanise our culture. The two sides of the Bulgarian culture are the national originality and the еuropean appurtenance.

Promoting tolerance

By Solomon Passy

“I am a modest representative of the lucky Bulgarian Jewish community that was saved by the brave Bulgarian people during WWII. My first exposure to public political activity was back in 1985 when, at the age of 28, I was one of those who supported the Turkish minority in Bulgaria which was oppressed by the communist regime. Therefore, I gained both personal and family experience of what tolerance is and what is not. In the mid-'90s I was President of the Atlantic Club of Bulgaria, the first NGO founded in a Warsaw Pact country, whose goal was membership for our ex-communist countries in NATO and the EU.

The North Korean Spring: Why Europe Does Not Want it?

Open Letter to EU's Big Five
By Solomon Passy, January 18th, 2012

To: Herman Van Rompuy President European Council Martin Schultz President European Parliament Lady Catherine Ashton EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy European External Action Service Joschr(233) Manuel Barroso President European Commission Helle Thorning-Schmidt Prime Minister

US-BG: Brotherly Friendship but at a Slight Standstill

By Solomon Passy, www.novinite.com
February 8th, 2012

A visit by a US Secretary of State – such as the visit of US State Secretary Hillary Clinton in Bulgaria on February 5 – is always good news for the host country. It is always a matter of recognition about the respective nation and its relations with the USA, and – let's face it – for the government itself. The great added value of such visits is that they indirectly stimulate American (and only) investments and tourism. The Bulgarian public clearly understood what priorities the USA had during the visit of State Secretary Hillary Clinton to Bulgaria: energy security and diversification (in the common interest of both the USA and Bulgaria); shale gas (an issue on which the Bulgarian position saw various transformations); the open government program (to which the Bulgarian side visibly failed to respond); the UN Security Council veto on the Syria resolution. We also learned that the common Bulgarian-US military bases could be used more intensively in the future, which is truly good news against the backdrop of the reduction of the US military spending.

Does North Korea Have the Right of Spring: Why Europe Shys Away From?

An Open Letter to EU's Big Five by Solomon Passy,
January 20th 2012

To: Herman Van RompuyPresidentEuropean CouncilMartin SchultzPresidentEuropean ParliamentLady Catherine AshtonEU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security PolicyEuropean External Action Service Joschr(233) Manuel BarrosoPresidentEuropean CommissionHelle Thorning-SchmidtPrime MinisterDanish Presidency of the EUccThe Members of the European Commission January 18th, 2012 Dear Big Five of the EU: Happy New Year!Let the dreams of the Europeans that EU becomes a global actor materialise in 2012! In spite of the financial and economic challenges I believe 2012 will be acceptable for some nations or many people in EU or around the globe -- they could survive! There is, however, one nation on the globe that may not survive and neither of its citizens may dream of happiness or prosperity. This is North Korea.

Letter to Ms Barbara Demick, the Beijing Bureau Chief of Los Angeles Times

By Solomon Passy, January 20th 2012

To Ms Barbara Demick Beijing Bureau Chief Los Angeles Times Dear Ms Demick: I have recently read the Bulgarian edition of your book Nothing to Envy.

Letter to the editor of National Geographic magazine, NGM

By Solomon Passy, August 31st 2011

Dear Editor: Re: Your article "Baghdad After the Storm" in NGM, July 2011 This article reminded me of two different moments of our recent history, respectively one and two decades ago. The first one was in 1990-1991, when I was a young Member of the Bulgarian Parliament and Saddam Hussein occupied Kuwait. A few MPs including myself drafted and managed to pass the Bill for Bulgaria's participation in the International Coalition, led by the United States to liberate Kuwait. This was a difficult Bill to pass in 1990, since Bulgaria was still a member of the Warsaw Pact and Ally of the Soviet Union. After the operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm the satisfaction with the job done by our Coalition, however, was mixed with the disappointment of the unfinished job left -- to free Iraq from its dictator.

Access to Internet on EU territory -- the Fifth Freedom and Fundamental Human Right

Open Letter to the European Commission By Solomon Passy & Gergana Passy
Published in 24 Hours Daily, June 21st 2011

Access to Internet should be guaranteed and free in every public place of the European Union’s territory. This is what Solomon and Gergana Passy suggest in a letter to the European Commission. It is addressed to three Commissioners – Neelie Kroas, Viviane Reding and John DalliWhat we have in mind is both, cable and wireless high-speed Internet, the two Former Ministers write. In their opinion access to the network should be regarded as the newest, Fifth Freedom of the EU, alongside the free movement of goods, capitals, services and people.After their proposal in May 2008 in the 24 Hours Daily and then with a letter to the then Vice President of the EC Gchr(252)nter Verheugen Gergana and Solomon Passy achieved standardization of all mobile phone chargers in the EUDear Commissioners, We would like to congratulate you for all the achievements of the European Commission in the fields of digital agenda, of justice, fundamental rights and citizenship and of health and consumer policies.

Implementing NATO's New Strategic Concept Thinking Outside the Box: A Ten-Point Plan for NATO's Next 20 Years

By Dr. Solomon Passy President of the Atlantic Club of Bulgaria Paper prepared for the Shadow NATO Summit II (15/16 November 2010)

Dr. Solomon Passy is Founding President of the Atlantic Club of Bulgaria and was Bulgarian Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2001 to 2005, in which capacity he chaired the UN Security Council (2002, 2003), was Chairman-in-Office of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in 2004 and signed the accession documents of Bulgaria to NATO in 2004 and to

NATO’s outreach & communication strategy

A Sketch for Brainstorming NATO’s New Strategic Concept,
Addressed to:
Secretary Madeleine K. Albright, Chair
NATO’s Group of Experts
Presented at the Prague PSSI Conference on NATO’s Strategic Concept, January 12

PREFACEAt the beginning of 2010, 10 years into the 21st century and more than 20 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, we should be ready to think, plan and forecast for some 20 good years ahead. i.e., with a vision reaching 2030 and beyond. Of course, such forecasts should be open to periodical updating.

Dilma Rousseff and the Godly Ggifts for a Diplomatic Renaissance

By Solomon Passy, 29th November 2010

Dr. Solomon Passy is the founder and Honorary President of the Atlantic Club of Bulgaria, the former Bulgarian Foreign Minister (in the government of Simeon Saxe-Coburg in 2001-2005), and Chairperson-in-Office of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe in 2004. The current Bulgarian government has been blessed by God: it is the first in the past 20 years that does not need to negotiate for EU membership but only to take advantage of it. And to invest in reforms the governance capacity that was freed from the accession negotiations, especially in diplomacy and foreign policy, which after NATO and the EU accessions need new goals. The time has come in Bulgaria for a large-scale foreign policy reform (FPR) – ever a renaissance.

Post Congress Outreach to North Korea- Making EU Global Actor

by Solomon Passy, 6th October 2010

Former Bulgarian Foreign Minister and Founding President of the Atlantic Club of Bulgaria, Dr. Passy was re-elected as the Club's President in 2009 after 8 years in government, having held office as OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Chairman of the UN Security Council and Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committees of the Bulgarian Parliament . He argues that the EU must fulfill its role as a global actor by reaching out to North Korea. The Lisbon Treaty provides the legal authority and instruments for Europe to realise its destiny as a global actor in foreign and security affairs. Recent developments on the Korean peninsula are a reminder that the Korean issue is the key, long-standing global issue involving every other global actor apart from the EU.

Common EU Defence vs. Global Warming, the Lisbon Treaty - Key to Lisbon Strategy

by Solomon Passy, July 4th 2008

During the 1982 Falklands crisis, Margaret Thatcher reminded that diplomacy without force is like an orchestra without instruments. In this terminology, the EU's current defence policy resembles an orchestra of deaf musicians with large instruments, and lacking a conductor. The Lisbon Treaty will harmonize this current chaos.Our EU military might still reflects the centuries-old legacy of European enmities and we continue to arm ourselves as if to fight one another, rather than opposing an external foe together. The unnecessary duplications and chaotic diversity of armaments and technology -- even among NATO's European Allies -- makes European defence spending far less effective than that of the US.

EU Standard and Euro-Traffic Police against Road Traffic Accidents, or the Self-Management Instrument Called Brussels

by Solomon Passy and Krasimira Martinova, June 14th 2008

In the war on the roads Bulgaria is, regrettably, a tragic champion. Among the EU Member States Bulgaria ranks second (after Romania) in the number of road deaths per billion vehicle-km, 4.2-fold the EU average.Between 1951 (when records began) and 2006, 52,276 people were killed on the roads in Bulgaria (as many as the population or an Asenovgrad or a Kurdjali). By comparison, this exceeds 2,000-fold our death toll (26) of all international military missions in which this country participated during that period.

EU, GSM and US or how to keep your hands-free without draining your batteries down

by Solomon Passy and Gergana Passy, May 29th 2008

We GSM users are all too familiar with the nail-biting situation in which our battery has run down at the worst possible moment, with nothing but chargers for other handset brands within reach.Many GSM users have also probably noticed the deteriorating quality, as well as the often changing standards, of mobile telephone accessories: hands-free, chargers (there are three types), and data transmission cables. Manufacturers’ short-term interest is clear but volatile: bad quality boosts sales, and sales boost profits. At the expense of competitiveness and users! (Remember Charlie Chaplin’s film The Kid, where the title character breaks windows to help the glazier get work.

e-Democracy or information society for an enlightened choice

by Solomon Passy, November 24th 2007

On November 11, 1947, in a speech in the House of Commons, Winston Churchill pronounced his famous dictum: "Democracy is the worst form of government except all those other forms that have been tried from time to time." The paradox in this familiar quotation stems from a classical dogma to which mankind is still subservient - that democracy is synonymous with universal suffrage. Sixty years later, our world has left light years behind the technologies of the past, which enables us to enrich democracy with new, more effective and more moral forms of enlightened government of the countries and the world.Churchill was right that elections are an ineffective method of government. The reason is that, in their present form, they do not serve the principal TARGET of public development: an ongoing and sustained improvement of the quality of life of each succeeding generation.

Time of Change: Towards a transformed OSCE for the 21st century

Statement by Mr. Solomon Passy, 7 December 2004

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NATO'S GLOBAL MISSION IN THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY

Solomon Passy, Lyubomir Ivanov

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PDL with data constants

Solomon Passy, Tinko Tinchev

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An Essay in Combinatory Dynamic Logic

Solomon Passy, Tinko Tinchev

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Determinism and looping in Combinatory PDL

George Gargov, Solomon Passy

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