Arriving in Brussels for the October 1-2 Special European Council, Prime Minister Boyko Borissov commented on the European Commission's report on the rule of law situation in the EU: "I would like to thank the Commission for its extremely objective report, which reflects Bulgaria progress and spells out what else we should do to excel in this area." [ Ссылка ] #eudebates #Turkey #Dialogue #Cyprus #debates #HagiaSophia #Migration #Borrell #Turkey #Ankara #Erdogan #Anastasiades
He said: "We will follow firmly the recommendations of the Venice Commission to deliver on all commitments as part of the monitoring of Bulgaria."
Referring to the Special European Council's agenda, which includes discussion of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and the situation in the Eastern Mediterranean, Borissov said that due to its geostrategic location, Bulgaria is strongly affected by the conflicts going on around it. "Azerbaijan-Armenia relations are very important to the region and we call for an immediate ceasefire. We maintain exceptionally friendly relations with both countries, which are very important trading partners to us. Hopefully, a negotiated settlement to the Nagorno-Karabakh issue will be achieved. We are firmly against third-party involvement in the conflict," said Borissov.
Regarding the conflict in the Eastern Mediterranean between Turkey, on the one hand, and Greece and Cyprus, on the other, the Prime Minister said it is of exceptional importance to the EU and Bulgaria and decisions based on dialogue are needed. Political decisions should be made immediately about Crimea, Ukraine and Belarus. As to Belarus, the situation can be resolved by new elections.
Borissov said Bulgaria is surrounded by conflicts on all sides: Kosovo and Serbia to the West, Cyprus, Greece and Turkey to the South, there is also Armenia and Azerbaijan, and Belarus, Crimea to the North. He stated: "I believe the EU is perfectly right to be making efforts to pacify our region." RI/DD
"In the most difficult days of the pandemic, we made life, health and social care for our elderly people a priority." This is what Boyko Borissov wrote on his personal Facebook profile on the occasion of the International Day of Older Persons. The Prime Minister considers it a success that "COVID-19 is not allowed to spread uncontrollably in social services."
"We increased pensions by 6.7% in the complicated economic situation. This month, for the third time in a row, all 2.1 million pensioners will receive a supplement of BGN 50 to meet, for example, their most urgent needs for medicines. This support will continue until the end of our term, "Borissov added.
In his personal profile, the Prime Minister emphasizes that "with the draft budget for next year we will seek a fair update of pensions. "On today's International Day of Older Persons, I thank our mothers and fathers for their efforts to build us as individuals and as a society," Borissov wrote.
Bulgaria exports its problems to North Macedonia
International Institute for Middle East and Balkan Studies (IFIMES[1]) from Ljubljana, Slovenia, regularly analyses developments in the Middle East and the Balkans. IFIMES analyzed the current developments in Bulgaria. We bring the most interesting excerpts from a comprehensive analysis titled “2020 Bulgaria: Bulgaria exports its problems to North Macedonia.”
2020 Bulgaria: Bulgaria exports its problems to North Macedonia
In early 2020 Bulgaria entered a deep political crisis. The protests organized in the capital of Sofia and several other cities have been going on since July this year. They began after the prosecutor raided the building of the president of the state and Hristo Ivanov's spectacular action on the coast of the Black Sea in which together with two supporters he motored up to a luxurious residence of Ahmed Dogan (DPS), one of the most influential persons in Bulgaria. The goal was to draw attention to the illegal fencing of public facilities and unlawful engagement of security guards from civil service at the residence. The action triggered mass protests in Bulgaria against corruption, oligarchs and the government.
After the arrest of two of his aids (presidential commissioner for fight against corruption and security advisor), Bulgarian President Rumen Radev (independent) accused the state prosecutor of being linked with the mafia. The conflict between the Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov (GERB – Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria) and the Bulgarian President Rumen Radev intensified.
The existing crisis in Bulgaria is multidimensional. Specifically, it is political, social, economic and includes recession, financial instability, high level of crime and corruption, institutional inefficiency, as well as a crisis of political representation and the existing political system.
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