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Simeon Mitropolitski is a Canadian analyst, of Bulgarian origin, and a former syndicated columnist with the Bulgarian News Agency (BTA). He is the author of several hundred articles dealing with hot political and economic topics, both national and international.
He was part of the first group of Bulgarian intellectuals and students that began the opposition movement that finally put an end to the communist regime in this country in 1989, and in 1996-1997 participated in international observation teams during the elections in several Balkan countries - Romania, Albania and Bulgaria.
In 2002 Simeon and his family moved from Bulgaria to Canada where they live now in Montreal, province of Quebec. Simeon is a Master of Political Science from McGill University and a B.A. of Political Science and History.
Global Real Estate Project
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Europe: Falling Borders, Common Cities
There are reasons to believe that this project, by far not the first that we have seen mushrooming in Europe, won't be the last of a kind. The gradual abolishment of the border formalities between two or more nations in Europe has increased the number of temporary workers since 1960s. What hasn't been done 40 years ago and what we see now unfolding before our eyes is the urban integration across the national borders. In the case of the new French-Swiss project the interesting moment is that one of the two participating countries isn't even a member of the EU. When Europeans and Americans talk about political tensions and economic problems in Asia or Africa, they usually don't forget to mention the artificial nature of many of the political borders that have been imposed by the European colonial powers. What have been done in Africa by the Europeans between 1860 and 1960 have been done with similar success in Europe even before. The nation states have cut the continent and only occasionally they have followed linguistic or geographical lines. Turning the nation states into self-sufficient national economies in late 19th century made impossible for many cities and regions to have normal trade with their immediate neighbors. After two bloody tragedies between 1914 and 1945 the European nations, those who could decide for themselves, decided to change the economic model and to erase the economic significance of the political borders. The following 50-year period was a resounding success story of how former enemies can manage to live together in peace and harmony. First thousands, then hundreds of thousands, then millions of Europeans could live in one country and work in another and that pushed economically forward some of the former frontier regions. But for many years that was the main benefit for the local population. What we have begun seeing in the last 10-15 years is an attempt to manage this migration flows by creating new cross-border urban areas, something that have for a long time existed within the United States, e.g. New York City or Washington DC, or in Canada, e.g. Ottawa. The new approach isn't to perceive the population as going from one urban area to another, ruled by different laws and regulations, but rather that one urban area happened to be separated between different jurisdictions that need to cooperate in order to make the life of their common citizens more pleasant and productive. Looking at the map of the European Union there are many opportunities to establish similar cross-border urban metropolis. The possible opportunities have been substantially increased with the recent EU enlargement. By developing the urban areas of the new member states along their borders, there will be fewer incentives for this population to seek jobs in far away locations. These regions will experience unprecedented economic development. Last but not least, these forms of cooperation may reduce many former international animosities, as suggests the EU example. In the case of French-Swiss metropolis the interesting fact is that Switzerland isn't a EU member and perhaps won't be in the years to come. Another interesting fact is that the new metropolis will include much more Swiss than French citizens. In return the French side will provide the much-needed new lands for industrial, commercial and residential development. Thus the Swiss side will get land for development, and the French side will have new job opportunities, things they both desperately need. After this project is accomplished these two Swiss cantons will have made one more step closer to the EU. With many such steps perhaps the salient question of entering the EU may again be put on referendum.
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