A collection of 150 posts
On Saturday, 11 September, Bulgaria’s president Rumen Radev announced he would call snap general elections on 14 November to coincide with the first round of presidential elections in which he will be seeking a second 5-year term. Radev, whom pollsters see as the current front-runner in the presidential race,
Bulgaria will hold both presidential and snap general elections in November amidst political polarization and uncertainty that are stalling badly needed recovery aid from the European Union. On Thursday, the country’s parliament voted 152-0 with 25 abstentions to schedule the presidential vote on November 14. President Rumen Radev is
Bulgaria, the poorest EU member state, is sliding into political chaos, throwing its ability to tap into badly needed EU economic recovery aid into question. Currently run by a caretaker cabinet with limited powers, appointed by president Rumen Radev, the country is on the brink of calling a third general
Two countries in Central & Eastern Europe (CEE), Bulgaria and Croatia, are on track to introduce the European common currency. In Sofia, politicians on both the left and right endorse the euro despite the looming government crisis, while Zagreb has even decided on its national symbols to be portrayed on
Bulgaria is closing its borders to four more countries due to spikes in COVID-19 cases: the Netherlands, Malta, Andorra and Georgia. The list already included Great Britain, Spain, Cyprus and Kuwait among others. Bulgarian citizens coming from those counties are allowed entry into the country only with a PCR test
The newly elected 46th National Assembly of Bulgaria held its inaugural meeting last week. Bulgarian MPs took the oath of office and elected Iva Miteva of “There Is Such a People” (TISP) as Parliament Chair by 137 votes and 99 abstentions. Miteva was supported by the parliamentary groups of TISP,
The European Commission took Bulgaria to the European Court of Justice after four years of Sofia refusing to link its national business register to the EU Business Registers system (BRIS). BRIS is an information system that allows users to search company-specific data simultaneously in all EU countries with the purpose
A second Bulgarian parliamentary election held on Sunday lead again to inconclusive results. The center-right GERB party of former prime minister Boyko Borissov and the new anti-establishment party “There Is Such a People” both gained 23% in the election on Sunday, 11 July. A second election was called after coalition
Showing his backing of the “Three Seas Initiative,” US president Joe Biden appeared via video conference at the group’s event this week in Sofia, Bulgaria, giving a video address at the start of the conference. Seven heads of state were in attendance at the forum, held on 8-9 July
Bulgaria’s real gross domestic product (GDP) is expected to grow by 4.5% this year and by 4.0% in 2022, stronger than previously expected, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) announced. The main upside risks to the outlook are a stronger rebound of consumption amid high
Starting in July of this year, Romania and Bulgaria will be granted access to Europe’s Visa Information System (VIS), a database that connects border guards at the EU’s external borders with member states’ consulates around the world, as part of those countries’ eventual inclusion into Schengen, a borderless
The United States has imposed sanctions on three Bulgarians and 64 companies linked to them, over their alleged corrupt activities. The three businessmen are former lawmaker and media mogul Delyan Peevski, government official Ilko Zhelyazkov and fugitive gambling tycoon Vassil Bozhko. Those blacklisted are banned from the US financial system,
Bulgaria’s president’s Security and Defence Secretary, Stefan Yanev, will be the prime minister of Bulgaria’s caretaker government. President Rumen Radev has appointed the government by decree. Gulub Donev will be deputy prime minister for Economic and Social Policy and Minister of Labor and Social Policy, Boiko Rashkov
President Radev handed over a mandate to the second-largest political force in Parliament, There Is Such a People (TISP), to form a government, following GERB-UDF failed to find coalition partners and secure a majority. The party immediately returned it as they would not like to enter into any coalitions with
The incumbent Bulgarian leader, Boyko Borissov, and his party, GERB, stumbled in the elections that took place on 4 April. For the prime minister, this meant losing his grip on the government after almost a decade of ruling the poorest EU member state. Three weeks after the inconclusive elections, the