Sofia, June 11
German Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz visits Sofia as part of a Balkan tour that has already taken him to Kosovo, Serbia, Greece and the Republic of North Macedonia. He meets with Prime Minister Kiril Petkov and President Rumen Radev to discuss bilateral relations, the Ukraine war, energy security and the European integration of the Western Balkans.
Sofia, June 11
Foreign Minister Teodora Genchovska and Energy Minister Alexander Nikolov tell reporters that they will tender their resignations Monday in line with a decision of their There Is Such a People (TISP) party to leave the government. Two of the four TISP ministers have already asked to resign: Regional Development Minister Grozdan Karadjov on Wednesday and Sport Minister Radostin Vasilev on Friday.
Sofia, June 11
The political class in Bulgaria is faced with a statehood test and if it fails, Bulgaria will have very serious problems in the next 6 to 9 months, Defence Minister Dragomir Zakov says on bTV. According to him, the political class must show maturity and statesmanship in order to get Bulgaria through the upcoming shocks in the next 6-9 months – and then think about elections.
Sofia, June 12
Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Assen Vassilev comments the withdrawal of There Is Such a People (TISP) from the government coalition, leaving the government in the difficult position of having to seek support in all parliamentary groups, including the opposition, if they want to push through the budget revision and other legislation, and the impending government personnel changes. He says he did not expect TISP to throw the State under the bus at a moment when there is a state budget to revise.
Sofia, June 12
The Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) reconfirms its decision to remain in the ruling coalition and supports a contemplated budget revision. The National Council instructs the BSP leader, Executive Bureau and the leadership of the Socialist parliamentary group to hold talks with the Continue the Change, There is Such a People and Democratic Bulgaria with a view to preparing a government programme until the end of the year so as to overcome the crises by carrying through the 2022 budget revisions, adopting the package of laws needed to start implementing the National Recovery and Resilience Plan and preparing and adopting the 2023 state budget.
Sofia, June 12
In a Darik Radio interview, There Is Such a People (TISP) leader Slavi Trifonov reiterates that there are two reasons for the decision to withdraw from the government coalition. One is that Prime Minister Kiril Petkov is pursuing a policy on North Macedonia that is at odds with the official policy of the Foreign Ministry, which is in the TISP portfolio, and the other is that Trifonov was told by the Ministers of Regional Development and of Energy – also in the TISP portfolio – that the State is not run well, financially.
Sofia, June 13
Outgoing Sports Minister Radostin Vasilev and five MPs from There Is Such a People – Nikolay Radulov, Ivo Atanasov, Georgi Georgiev, Deyan Petkov, and Svetlin Stoyanov – tell a press conference that they are leaving their party as it has been infiltrated by the mafia.
Sofia, June 13
The Vazrazhdane party, which has the smallest parliamentary group of 13 MPs, urges the Bulgarian government to resign. According to party leader Kostadin Kostadinov, it was clear right from the start that the four-party coalition was kept together only by special interests.
Sofia, June 13
Deputy Prime Minister for Economy and Industry and Minister of Economy and Industry Korneliya Ninova confers with the Deputy Secretary-General of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Ulrik Knudsen, to discuss the roadmap for Bulgaria’s accession to the OECD. Knudsen tells reporters that his team is here to facilitate the accession process and praises the Economy Minister for her efforts so far.
Sofia, June 13
Foreign Minister Teodora Genchovska and Energy Minister Alexander Nikolov hand their resignations to the Prime Minister. Both Genchovska and Nikolov give as the reason for resigning the decision of the There Is Such a People party, which nominated them, to withdraw from the government coalition.
Sofia, June 13
The projects for road construction and maintenance of the republican road network in Bulgaria are at real risk of non-implementation and forced discontinuation, reads a position of Bulgarian Branch Chamber Roads (BBCR). The BBCR writes that it has been warning all state institutions about the gravity of the problems in the road construction sector but no adequate decisions have been taken. If adequate actions are not taken and the problems in the country’s road sector are not resolved by the power holders by June 30, the companies in the sector will be forced to stop their work on all projects, the position reads further.
Sofia, June 14
The opposition GERB party tells a news briefing that they are submitting a vote of no confidence in the government led by Kiril Petkov. The reasoning for the motion, according to GERB Deputy Chairman Tomislav Donchev, is the failure of the government in the area of public finances and its economic policy.
Sofia, June 14
German Finance Minister Christian Lindner congratulates Bulgaria on the stability of its public finances, speaking after a meeting with Bulgarian Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Assen Vassilev. On the agenda of talks are the economic and fiscal status quo in Bulgaria, the Recovery and Resilience Plan and the reforms that it will require, opportunities to further develop German-Bulgarian relations, Bulgaria’s efforts to join the eurozone and Germany’s support, and current matters on the international and EU agenda related to the challenges caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Lindner also meets with Prime Minister Kiril Petkov to discuss bilateral cooperation, efforts against corruption and investment opportunities.
Sofia, June 14
Outgoing Foreign Minister Teodora Genchovska meets with her Armenian counterpart Ararat Mirzoyan, who is paying a visit to Bulgaria. The two officials discuss the whole spectrum of bilateral relations, focusing on the expected visit of Armenian President Vahagn Khachaturyan to Bulgaria in the second half of 2022. Opportunities for deepening cooperation in the fields of economy, connectivity, security, innovation, tourism, and education also feature on the agenda of the talks. The Armenian Foreign Minister also meets with President Rumen Radev to talk about new opportunities to promote the partnership between Bulgaria and Armenia in economy, tourism and education, as well as the role of the EU and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe in the process of strengthening the stability and security in the Caucasus.
Sofia, June 15
MPs of the There Is Such a People (TISP), GERB-UDF, the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF), and Vazrazhdane parliamentary groups submit a draft resolution on the early release of Nikola Minchev as Chair of the National Assembly. MRF Floor Leader Mustafa Karadayi tells journalists that the draft resolution was initiated by TISP over his violating the Constitution by refusing to schedule an extraordinary plenary sitting on North Macedonia, and violating Parliament’s rules to order a sitting behind closed doors on Tuesday, when documents classified under the Protection of Classified Information Act were discussed. Democratic Bulgaria (DB) Floor Leader Hristo Ivanov says that his parliamentary group will not back either the resolution on Minchev’s release or the motion of no-confidence against the Cabinet.
Washington, D.C., June 16
Innovation and Growth Minister Daniel Lorer takes part in a roundtable with US business representatives, organized by the US Chamber of Commerce. The meeting focuses on deepening trade and investment relations. Lorer presents the opportunities for investment in high-tech production and research and development activities in Bulgaria, noting the increased interest of US businesses.
Sofia, June 16
Parliament passes on first reading the update of the 2022 state budget. The update enacts a package of urgent anti-crisis measures proposed by the government to mitigate the negative impacts on people and businesses of rising fuel and energy prices. In the budget update, the real GDP growth in 2022 is revised down to 2.9%. Inflation is projected to reach 11.6%, most of it due to rising food prices which are expected to increase by up to 23.9% year-on-year in December. The budget update envisages an increase of the maximum amount of new government debt to BGN 10.3 billion, from BGN 7.3 billion. The increase will go toward refinancing maturing government debt at the start of 2023.
Sofia, June 16
Parliament supports a motion for the replacement of its Chair Nikola Minchev (Continue the Change) submitted by the formerly power-sharing There Is Such a People with support from GERB, the Movement for Rights and Freedoms, and Vazrazhdane. They claim that Minchev has violated the Constitution and Parliament’s rules of procedure, and impedes normal legislative work and parliamentary control over the Government’s work.
Sofia, June 16
Hundreds of citizens gather in front of the National Assembly’s building to express their support for the recently removed Parliament Chair Nikola Minchev and protest against his early dismissal with the votes of GERB, There Is Such a People, the Movement for Rights and Freedoms and Vazrazhdane. Minchev himself, Prime Minister Kiril Petkov, Deputy Prime Minister Assen Vassilev, MPs and ministers from the ruling coalition join the protest chanting “Nikola”.
Sofia, June 17
Kiril Simeonov, an MP from There Is Such a People (TISP), tells journalists that he is leaving his party, thus becoming the sixth TISP MP to split from the parliamentary group, following outgoing Minister of Youth and Sports Nikolay Radulov, Ivo Atanasov, Georgi Georgiev, Deyan Petkov, and Svetlin Stoyanov. Among other arguments, Simeonov says that he is ashamed of his party’s vote for the removal of Parliament Chair Nikola Minchev.
Sofia, June 17
The National Assembly Press Centre confirms to BTA that the parliamentary Foreign Policy Committee has received the French proposal for lifting Sofia’s veto on the start of Skopje’s EU accession negotiations. Off the record, it provides for unblocking the launch of the talks in exchange for the EU guaranteeing that the Republic of North Macedonia will meet the conditions set by Bulgaria. Approached for comment, Prime Minister Kiril Petkov says that the proposal states that North Macedonia won’t start EU accession talks before it changes its constitution to include Bulgarians among peoples who represent the state. He stresses that he will not make a single-handed decision on the issue of North Macedonia; Parliament is the one to decide.
