Bulgaria News and Discussions

[Time_Traveller]

Bulgaria’s pro-western government collapses after just six months

Wed 22 Jun 2022

The Bulgarian government has collapsed in a no-confidence vote in parliament, throwing the European Union country into political turmoil amid the war in Ukraine and surging inflation.

Opposition lawmakers toppled the government of the prime minister, Kiril Petkov – which took power six months ago – by 123-116 in a vote after the ruling coalition lost its majority over disputes on budget spending and whether Bulgaria should unlock North Macedonia’s EU accession.

Petkov, a 42-year-old Harvard graduate who has pledged to combat corruption, has taken a strong pro-European and pro-Nato position since Russia invaded Ukraine, an unusual stance for a country with a traditionally friendly attitude toward Moscow. Analysts predict that a new government would bring a more neutral policy toward Russia.

“This vote is only one small step in a very long way,” Petkov said after the vote. “What they fail to understand is that this is not the way to win the Bulgarian people.“

The country now faces possibly its fourth general election since April 2021, putting at risk millions of euros from EU recovery funds and its plans to adopt the euro in 2024.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/ ... ril-petkov

[Certain Russian user]

Bulgaria’s pro-western government collapses after just six months

He refused to buy Russian gas for rubles. That's what happens when you put the wishes of your foreign sponsors above the interests of your people. He's the first, but unlikely the last. "One small step in a very long way" indeed.

[Time_Traveller]

Bulgaria’s parliament approves French compromise to lift veto on opening of North Macedonia’s EU talks

June 24, 2022

Bulgaria’s parliament on June 24 approved a French proposal that would lift the country's veto on the start of North Macedonia’s EU membership talks. The decision now must be approved by the government, which theoretically could do that immediately by holding a meeting by telephone.

The vote was seen as a breakthrough by Prime Minister Kiril Petkov but North Macedonia has already rejected the French EU Presidency's compromise plan because it foregrounds Bulgaria's complaints about its neighbour and says that these must be dealt with before anything else.

The European Council, meeting on June 23-24 again failed to allow Moldova to start accession talks because of Bulgaria's veto. Albania is also blocked, because the two countries have been linked in the accession process.

Domestic political turmoil over the issue helped bring the Bulgarian government down on the eve of the summit.

Lifting the veto – imposed by the former ruling Gerb party at the end of 2020 – was backed by Petkov’s Change Continues, Democratic Bulgaria, Gerb and the Movement for Rights and Freedoms. Slavi Trifonov’s There Are Such People (ITN) and the far-right pro-Russian Vazrazhdane voted against the proposal, while the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) abstained.

https://www.intellinews.com/bulgaria-s- ... ks-248602/

[firestar464]

Bulgaria’s elections are not for sale, PM insists as he vows crackdown on tampering

https://www.politico.eu/article/bulgari ... te-buying/

[wjfox]