[random3]

Great point! I'd generalize this and say you have to do this with any minority group that is "below" some desired level (within a country, community, etc.). And concretely, you need to invest in access to money and high quality education first.

[toomuchtodo]

You’re both right. You have to empower the disenfranchised through active engagement and investment, but also use financial repercussions against those who would continue to subjugate another class. Without both, success is much more difficult.

Fight corruption with a financial boot. I imagine Bulgaria needs the EU more than the EU needs Bulgaria. This requires more spine in Brussels though.

[Ar-Curunir]

The non-elite in Bulgaria need access to the capital and economic opportunities of the EU; the Bulgarian elite already have access.

Also, economic sanctions inevitably hurt the poor more than the rich; this is the case in Venezuela, Iran, and many other countries across the world