The Global EyeBulgarian President Rumen Radev has pledged to restore democracy and stamp out rampant corruption at a ceremony swearing him in for a second term.
“There is an anti-mafia consensus in Bulgaria,” Radev said in an address to the National Assembly on January 19.
Radev Sworn In For Second Term As Bulgarian President, Pledges To Tackle Corruption (rferl.org)
The new prime ministers of North Macedonia and Bulgaria agreed on January 18 to intensify efforts to improve relations between the Balkan neighbors.
Bulgaria, North Macedonia Agree To Work On Issues Preventing EU Talks (rferl.org)
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has condemned as “judicial harassment” a recent court ruling in Bulgaria where two journalists and a website were found guilty of defamation for articles they published in 2018.
Watchdog Slams Bulgarian Court Ruling As ‘Judicial Harassment’ Of Journalists (rferl.org)
The Black Sea is the region most severely affected by the tensions between the Russian Federation and the Transatlantic alliance. An arc of conflicts, extending from Moldova through Ukraine to the South Caucasus and Central Asia, serves the Kremlin’s strategy of geopolitical control. Russia’s sharp aggression against Georgia and Ukraine turned the Black Sea from an area of potent cooperation into a potential battleground. For the littoral states, coping with the Russian military threat and its hybrid influence is an existential priority.
However, Bulgaria seems distanced and keeps a low profile in that Black Sea contest. Despite witnessing over a decade of growing tensions and Russia’s ongoing military buildup, Sofia has never recognized the Black Sea as a region with a unique identity and important security dimensions. As such, no Bulgarian government to date has developed a specific policy toward this region nor seen the need to play an active role, as a full-fledged European Union and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) member, in drafting and implementing a common strategy for the Black Sea. Bulgaria’s regional interests and policy are, instead, primarily limited to energy, tourism and trade, preventing mass refugee flows, and averting domestic religious radicalization; Sofia views every regional security problem strictly through those lenses.
Bulgaria’s Black Sea Dilemma: NATO Ally or Russian Gateway? – Jamestown
Bulgarian Prime Minister designate Kiril Petkov presented the composition of his future government to the nation as he seeks to end eight months of political deadlock.
Petkov, 41, leader of the newly formed centrist party We Continue the Change (PP), reached an agreement a day earlier with three other left-wing and center-right groups to form a coalition government.
Bulgaria’s PM Designate Petkov Presents New Government Ahead Of Parliament Vote (rferl.org)
Bulgaria’s largest political party expects to soon form a coalition government and put an end to the political deadlock that has resulted in three parliamentary elections this year.
Kiril Petkov, the co-leader of the We Continue the Change party that won but fell far short of a majority in repeat elections in November, told President Rumen Radev on December 6 that “we fully understand that Bulgaria already absolutely needs to have a regular government.”
Bulgarian Party Leader Expects Coalition Government Soon (rferl.org)
In what would be a major upset, a newly formed anti-graft party is seen as winning Bulgaria’s general elections with more than a quarter of the votes, according to partial official results.
Bulgarian voters went to the polls on November 14 to elect a parliament — and a president — in a bid to break a monthslong political deadlock and secure a government to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic as well as rising energy prices and endemic corruption.
New Anti-Graft Party Poised To Win Bulgarian Elections, Early Results Show (rferl.org)
Polling stations have opened in Bulgaria, where voters are going to the polls to elect a parliament and a president in a bid to break a months-long political deadlock and secure a government to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic as well as rising energy prices and endemic corruption.
No party is expected to win an outright majority in the November 14 parliamentary election, the third such vote this year, opening the door to more difficult coalition talks in a deeply divided parliament.
Bulgarians Vote To Elect Parliament, President In Latest Bid To End Political Deadlock (rferl.org)
Bulgaria’s President Rumen Radev has given a third and final mandate to form a government to the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) after two other political parties gave up efforts to set up a coalition following last month’s inconclusive vote.
Hoping Third Time’s A Charm, Bulgarian President Asks Socialists To Form Government (rferl.org)