#Radev

[head-post]

Bulgaria’s president slammed GERB party for protracted political crisis

Bulgarian President Rumen Radev criticised former Prime Minister Boyko Borissov’s GERB party for stalling talks on forming a permanent government, Euractiv reported.

I call on the political parties to stop playing with the fate of the people and the future of the country. I have given enough time for them to fulfil their responsibility, but to easily delete everything and throw the country into another early parliamentary election with so many problems pending is a total demonstration of irresponsibility.

The party held seven general elections in the past four years. On Sunday, it announced the cancellation of coalition talks with Democratic Bulgaria, the Bulgarian Socialist Party and ITN due to disagreements over the position of prime minister.

Borissov insists that former parliament speaker Rosen Zhelyazkov be elected prime minister. However, Democratic Bulgaria pushes for the appointment of a prime minister who is not a member of any political party.

Bulgaria’s president has the right to set the conditions for issuing a mandate to form a government.

I will give a little more time – a few days, hoping the negotiators realise that their responsibility is not only to their own party and voters but to the whole nation.

The political crisis could cause the country to lose 80 per cent of the Recovery and Sustainability Plan budget. A fractured parliament failed to pass the necessary anti-corruption and climate legislation to allow the European Commission to allocate funds, according to Atanas Pekanov, the former deputy prime minister for EU funds.

Bulgaria will lose €9 billion on the National Recovery and Sustainability Plan and other projects. The caretaker cabinet cannot push through the necessary reforms under the recovery plan. The government has a passive attitude towards it as well.

Read more HERE

[goceciblog]

Bulgaristan’da Yeni Erken Seçim Süreci: Cumhurbaşkanı Radev’den Geçici Hükümet Atağı

Edirne Turizm Tarih Kültür Sosyal Yardımlaşma ve Balkan Ülkeleri Dostluk Derneği Başkanı Cengiz Gültekin, Bulgaristan Hak ve Özgürlükler Hareketi Genel Başkanı Mustafa Karadayı, Başkan Yardımcısı Ahmed Ahmedov ve Mustafa Market ve Tesislerinde İş İnsanı Mustafa Öztürk İma Takav Narod’un hükümet kurma görevini iade etmesi sonrası, Cumhurbaşkanı Rumen Radev geçici hükümeti atamaya ve ülkenin iki…

[beardedmrbean]

GERB’s executive committee has decided to continue government negotiations with “BSP - United Left” and “There Is Such a People” (TISP), with the nomination of Rosen Zhelyazkov for prime minister. Zhelyazkov will also lead the negotiations for a potential government formation. The party has tasked its negotiation team with pursuing talks to secure the support of these parties for a functioning cabinet, which would focus on changes to the Electoral Code and the Judiciary Act.

Additionally, GERB has expressed openness to discussions with “Democratic Bulgaria” (DB), provided that the party is willing to support Zhelyazkov as the prime minister candidate for a regular government. The talks with DB have been complicated by DB’s insistence on first voting on changes to the law before agreeing to a governance deal. This would block the election of Borislav Sarafov as Prosecutor General. Informal talks between GERB and DB have been ongoing despite GERB previously announcing the suspension of negotiations. If these talks fail, GERB has indicated it may seek support elsewhere.

GERB confirmed via its Facebook page that government talks would proceed without DB unless the party expresses readiness to back a regular government with Zhelyazkov. The negotiations are expected to be intensive, and GERB has underscored that their primary goal remains forming a stable government that assumes political responsibility. Toma Bikov, a GERB MP, emphasized the party's commitment to ending political experiments and returning to governance according to established political norms.

Delyan Peevski from DPS-New Beginning remarked that while parliament has many unresolved issues, if the negotiations fail, early elections should be called to reallocate political responsibilities. He stressed the growing support for DPS-New Beginning, noting that the party is doing significant work for the country. Similarly, Atanas Zafirov from the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) called for a new government, emphasizing the need for responsibility and transparency in governance. He also criticized the approach of seeking deals with the opposition without clear and publicly known goals.

Meanwhile, the debate continues over the possibility of a regular government and the role of the different political parties. Dzhevdet Chakarov from DPS-Dogan expressed willingness to engage in talks for a broader national agreement, excluding certain political models, and focusing on the country's priorities. The new legislative session has begun, with ongoing discussions about the judiciary and other critical reforms, although some motions have been blocked or delayed.

As the situation evolves, parliamentarians continue to outline their respective priorities for the political season, with GERB aiming to form a regular government, BSP stressing the need for an accountable administration, and other parties like “Revival” and DPS-Dogan focusing on economic issues such as electricity prices and public sector wages. With the National Assembly now in session, debates and decisions on critical matters like energy prices and the law on religions are set to take center stage.

In the meantime, three MPs have requested that their parliamentary immunities be waived, including Radostin Vassilev, Angel Georgiev, and Gunay Daloolu. This follows a request by the acting Prosecutor General for the immunity removal of six MPs, including representatives from “Revival,” DPS-Dogan, and “We Continue the Change - Democratic Bulgaria.”

[vincekris]

Kradetzat na praskovi

The Peach Thief - 1964 - Vulo Radev

[profoundengineerstarlight]

Rumen Radev

[reneverduzcocortes]

[fanficwolf105]

Fellas, is it gay to look at your friend(who you definatly did not have a crush on)after a day of babysitting and chaos in the middle of summer?

Anyways, here's more austin and stella au art with Levi and Freckles, Chloe's younger brother and Levi's future bf(and later on fiancee)

I have a whole story about why Levi was left home alone to take care of his twelve very young, but chaotic half-siblings and step-siblings

Left to Right: Harper(Frisky x Kaylan)(4 y/o), Levi(Rad x Frisky)(15 y/o), Nia(Rad x Eve)(5 y/o)and Freckles/Chloe's Brother(16 y/o)

Nia is designed by @cringeytoon

[dailyworldecho]

[inprimalinie]

Scurgere de documente: firmele bulgare aprovizionează armata ucraineană cu echipamente pentru a continua războiul

[head-post]

Bulgarian president warns of possible election fraud

Bulgaria‘s President Rumen Radev warned police and prosecutors of widespread electoral fraud, pointing to problems in investigating vote-buying schemes ahead of parliamentary elections, according to Euractiv.

What is important for a society to show that it is truly democratic is fairness, and fairness means, first of all, an equal approach by law enforcement authorities to all those who have broken the law, not just some of them.

Over the past two months, Bulgaria‘s anti-corruption commission arrested several people close to the leader of the Movement for Rights and Freedoms, Ahmed Dogan.

A few days ago, the pro-European Yes Bulgaria party handed over to police and prosecutors more than 200 specific names of “big vote-buyers” across the country who they claimed were linked to the US-sanctioned lawmaker Delyan Peevski.

Former Yes Bulgaria MP Ivaylo Mirchev publicly stated that the dependence of the prosecutor’s office and the Interior Ministry on Peevski was “obvious.” MEP and ALDE co-chair Ilhan Kyuchyuk also said that Bulgaria was witnessing an “open instrumentalisation of state institutions in favour of one party – Delyan Peevski’s New Beginning.”

Read more HERE

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Mira Lazine at LGBTQ Nation:

The Bulgarian parliament voted to enact a law prohibiting the “propaganda” of “non-traditional” sexual orientation and gender identity in schools last Wednesday. Their vote triggered mass protests and public opposition. The proposed law states, “It is the educational function of the Bulgarian school that such a state institution should not be allowed to promote or incite, in any way, directly or indirectly, ideas and views related to non-traditional sexual orientation and/or identification of gender identity other than that which is biological.” The law, an amendment to the Pre-School and School Education Law, emerged after the 17-member Parliamentary Committee on Education and Science overwhelmingly approved it. The committee’s approval led to a four-hour debate last Wednesday that culminated in the bill passing through parliament. This bill was proposed previously, however, it failed in committee.

Of the 240 parliament members, 159 voted in favor of the first section of the bill, while 22 voted against and 13 abstained. For the section defining “non-traditional sexual orientation,” 135 voted for it, 57 against, and 8 abstained. Members of the more liberal parties were unable to vote for the first section for unknown reasons. The law was especially popular among the increasingly politically dominant pro-Kremlin Revival/Vazrazhdane Party, which was the party to introduce it.

[...] Over 7,000 citizen signatures and nearly 80 non-governmental organizations were sent to the government to plead that Bulgarian President Rumen Radev does not sign this bill. Belgian LGBTQ+ rights organization Forbidden Colors said in a statement, “It is deeply troubling to see Bulgaria adopting tactics from Russia’s anti-human rights playbook. Such actions are not only regressive but are also in direct contradiction to the values of equality and non-discrimination that the European Union stands for.”

A protest was announced the same day in Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria. Since then, there’s been widespread protests throughout the capital and Varna, a port city. There have also been petitions sent to the Bulgarian government asking them to oppose the measure. The bill defines “non-traditional sexual orientation” as “different from the generally accepted and the concept of emotional, romantic, sexual or sensual attraction between persons of opposites.” Bulgarian news site Clubz, as well as Parliament member Eleonora Belobradova claimed that this section of the bill was actually copy/pasted from the Bulgarian Wikipedia. Additionally, the bill only recognizes “biological sex,” completely writing trans people out of the law and ignoring intersex individuals entirely.

Protests erupt over Bulgarian parliament’s passage of Russia-style Don’t Say Gay or Trans law.

[mariacallous]

In a matter of hours last August, Bulgarian legislators rushed through changes to the country’s national education act to ban so-called LGBTQ “propaganda” in schools.

The new law caught human rights groups and the Bulgarian public by surprise. Similar amendments had been proposed before but didn’t go anywhere. This time, the proposal moved with breakneck speed, advancing from the committee stage to the final vote in one week before the summer recess. It has been in effect since the school year started in September.

The law echoes discriminatory Russian legislation—first passed more than a decade ago—that used children and education as conduits for labelling the existence of LGBTQ peoples as “propaganda.” And its passage poses fundamental questions about what violations the European Union will allow to its foundational promise of human rights.

Bulgaria now joins Hungary as the second EU member state to use a national law to target its LGBTQ community. In recent years, lawmakers in Slovakia and Poland have also introduced similarly restrictive legislation focused on what can be taught in schools.

Specifically, the amendment to Bulgaria’s Preschool and Education Act prohibits “carrying out propaganda, promoting and inciting in any way, directly or indirectly, ideas and views related to nontraditional homosexual orientation and/or determination of gender identity other than the biological.”

An additional text passed in tandem explicitly defines “nontraditional sexual orientation” as “different from the generally accepted and embedded in the Bulgarian legal tradition concept of emotional, romantic, sexual, or sensual attraction between persons of opposite sexes.”

Although the definition of a “traditional” relationship is narrow, the interpretation of the rest of the law is broad, raising concerns of legalized harassment; self-censorship; and forced changes to science, psychology, and literature curricula. In a survey of Bulgarian schoolchildren published in 2020, 70.6 percent of LGBTQ students said they had been verbally harassed in the prior year. This fall, students feared increased bullying because of the new law.

There were two consecutive days of protests in August immediately following the parliamentary vote. A petition urging the President Rumen Radev to veto the law was signed by more than 7,000 people in 24 hours, but Radev—an independent whose politics follow those of the Bulgarian Socialist Party, a direct descendent of the Soviet-era Bulgarian Communist Party that is still in step with Russia—signed the bill into law.

Multiple pathways exist at the national and EU level to roll back the law but require the political will to follow them. Nationally, Bulgaria’s latest parliament—elected in October after the seventh elections in less than four years—could choose to overturn the bill. This is unlikely, given that the makeup of the current parliament is similar to the last one. Revival, the nationalist and pro-Russia party that proposed the anti-LGBTQ bill, is now the third-largest group in parliament.

There’s also the possibility of petitioning the country’s constitutional court, whose members could rule that it violates the Bulgarian constitution guaranteeing equality and the freedoms of expression, education, and receiving information.

The EU, which Bulgaria joined in 2007, has the power to deny funds and initiate penalizing legal procedures for member states. These actions would align with its stated ideals, but they haven’t been invoked yet—a marked contrast to when Hungary passed its own anti-LGBTQ law in 2021 and was swiftly condemned by the EU. At the time, the bloc froze 700 million euros in funding, contingent on the law being repealed. And there is currently a case at the Court of Justice—brought by the European Commission, European Parliament, and 16 member states—arguing that the Hungarian law discriminates against LGBTQ Hungarians. Specifically, the plaintiffs are arguing that the law violates Article 2 of the Treaty of the European Union, which guarantees equality and respect for human rights. The court case is the first time that this accusation has been brought against a member state.

Calculations by Reclaim, a Brussels-based human rights nongovernmental organization, found that more than 650 million euros ($680.8 million) in EU funding could be blocked for Bulgaria, similarly to Hungary, until the law is undone. The Bulgarian law breaches the same EU-defined human rights that are being argued at the Court of Justice. Deystvie, which provides pro bono legal assistance to Bulgaria’s LGBTQ community, is documenting the impact of the law for possible future cases.

“This is a very bureaucratic Union,” Deystvie cofounder and human rights lawyer Denitsa Lyubenova said. “But there are means to counteract what’s happening in Europe.”

The leverage of EU mechanism within Bulgaria remains uneven. Over the past four years, the nation’s politicians have been willing to shrug off or actively oppose EU funds to gain domestic political points. Earlier this fall, a parliamentary debate over EU-mandated energy reforms ended with MPs from Revival and another populist party ripping out microphone cables and stopping two critical votes. The action, which MPs used as part of their election campaign, contributed to a likely loss of more than 1 billion euros in the EU’s Recovery and Resilience funds.

On the topic of LGBTQ rights, Bulgaria already has a track record of ignoring rulings from both of Europe’s higher courts. Last year, Bulgaria’s Supreme Administrative Court refused to issue a birth certificate to a child with two mothers despite a 2021 Court of Justice of the European Union ruling requiring it. Bulgaria doesn’t recognize same-sex unions and recently banned gender changes to legal documents, putting it out of step with case law at the European Court of Human Rights, which rules for the broader 46 members of the Council of Europe.

The violations aren’t seen as negative to some Bulgarians because “they don’t look at the EU law as a constitution or as something that they value,” said Iliana Boycheva, a legal analyst with the Sofia-based Center for the Study of Democracy. “So this does not disappoint [them].”

Some EU parliamentary groups have made statements on the matter. The body’s equality commissioner announced that she’ll be looking into the Bulgarian law’s legality, although her role will be eliminated in the next European Parliament. At a November parliamentary discussion about legislation targeting LGBTQ communities, commissioners noted Bulgaria’s recent law; Dutch MP Raquel García Hermida-Van Der Walle went as far as to say the law is a cover for corruption and called for “immediate action towards Bulgaria and any other country breaking down our fundamental freedoms.”

The bigger players, though, have been mysteriously quiet. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called the Hungarian law “a shame” in 2021 but hasn’t spoken out against the Bulgarian law.

Overall, the EU over the past twelve months has taken a rightward and more nationalist shift. Leaders such as von der Leyer—who want to maintain a centrist position—tend to follow.

But Hungary and Bulgaria have been treated differently by the EU since before the parliamentary elections. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has been narratively established as a villain, and the bloc is often swift to condemn his actions. Former Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov, who governed until 2021 and still holds considerable power as the GERB party leader and a member of parliament, oversaw Bulgaria’s efforts to bankroll the TurkStream pipeline that gave Russian gas an essential transport route, as well as what many say is a corrupt court system. Borisov’s GERB party sits with von der Leyen as part of the center-right European People’s Party, and she flew to Bulgaria to campaign alongside him ahead of this summer’s EU elections.

Borisov, along with most GERB representatives present, voted in favor of the anti-LGBTQ law.

The Bulgarian law and the broader EU response is about LGBTQ rights, but it’s also about geopolitics, said Remy Bonny, the executive director of Forbidden Colors, whose advocacy work includes pushing for the lawsuit against Hungary’s anti-LGBTQ bill. “A lot of the backlashes that we have seen, especially in Central and Eastern Europe, on LGBTQ+ rights—they have always been going hand in hand with democratic backlashes as well.”

The current moment, Bonny said, can be traced back to Russia targeting its LGBTQ community in 2013, in part to push back against civil rights progress in the form of marriage equality in much of Europe. In the years since, Russia “has been abusing the topic of LGBTQ+ rights to polarize and destabilize the European Union,” Bonny added.

“This should be one of the largest wake-up signs for human rights that we’ve seen in the last decade,” he said. “The fact that the Russian legislation against LGBTQ+ people is able to be passed without serious sanctions—that’s saying a lot.”

[beardedmrbean]

Bulgarian President Rumen Radev has announced that the first mandate to form a government will be handed over to GERB after the New Year. This delay reflects the need for political parties to continue negotiations, which have been progressing slowly. The president emphasized that the time requested for these discussions is justified only if the National Assembly resumes normal operations and addresses pressing legislative matters.

Radev criticized the political forces for their sluggish dialogue, citing the month-long delay in electing a parliamentary speaker as an example of their inefficiency. He urged the parties to restore trust and dialogue, noting that society expects not only a functioning government but also the adoption of a state budget that balances the needs of citizens and the economy without jeopardizing fiscal stability or increasing national debt.

Regarding the timing of the mandate, Radev stated that handing it over before the Christmas and New Year holidays would be impractical, as political activity slows during this period. He acknowledged that more time is required for parties to bridge differences in a highly fragmented parliament. The head of state expressed hope that by the end of the year, it would become clear whether the political forces are willing to compromise and cooperate in forming a stable cabinet.

The president also commented on the challenges posed by the fragmented political landscape, noting that while parties understand the necessity of forming a government, they approach each other cautiously. This hesitancy has hindered efforts to build coalitions and advance discussions. Radev stressed that compromise and cooperation are crucial in the current parliamentary environment.

In addressing recent disputes between the We Continue the Change-Democratic Bulgaria coalition (WCC-DB) and the Prosecutor's Office, Radev highlighted the importance of consistent and impartial justice. He warned that selective enforcement of laws could undermine public trust and create perceptions of political interference. The president urged a uniform approach to legal violations, emphasizing that fair and equal application of justice is essential to maintaining credibility in the political process.

Meanwhile, Radev participated in the Annual Meeting of the Bulgarian Science Olympiad Teams, commending students, teachers, and mentors for their achievements in 2024. Bulgarian teams earned 91 medals, including 11 golds, in various international and regional competitions. The president congratulated them for showcasing the country's talent and potential on the global stage.

As the year-end approaches, Radev remains optimistic about the prospects for forming a government. He reiterated his expectation that the parties would demonstrate the will and determination to find common ground. The president called for continued dialogue and decisive action to address the pressing challenges facing Bulgaria.

[blastnews]

Bulgaria will offer NATO to organise Russia's talks with Ukraine

At the NATO summit in Washington, which starts on 9th July, Bulgaria will offer to organise talks between Russia and Ukraine, at which Sofia will assume the role of mediator, the country's acting Prime Minister Dimitar Glavchev said. "I sincerely believe that we should be in favour of peace talks mediated by Bulgaria. <…> And this is what I will propose (at the summit. - TMT)," he said (his words are quoted by the Bulgarian Novinite news agency).

At the same time, Glavchev emphasised that the peace talks should comply with the UN Charter and international law. "These are the conditions which, in my opinion, are not subject to discussion," he noted.

A little earlier, during parliamentary discussions ahead of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation summit, Glavchev expressed Bulgaria's commitment to allocating €80m in aid to Ukraine. Bulgarian President Roumen Radev said in June that Kiev did not have the resources to achieve its goals in the military conflict. At the same time, he mentioned two ways that, in his opinion, could end the war: peace talks or NATO countries providing additional resources.

According to the UN Charter, all members of the Organisation must resolve international disputes peacefully so that "international peace, security and justice are not endangered". The document also obliges UN members to refrain from using force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any country. Territories acquired by force or threat of force should not be recognised as legitimate, the Charter says.

Source: moscowtimes.ru

Picture: illustrative

[reneverduzcocortes]

[zalopro]

President Bulgarian urged VinFast to invest in electric cars in Balkan

President Bulgarian urged VinFast to invest in electric vehicles in Balkan President Bulgaria, Mr. Rumen Radev, officially sent an invitation to VinFast Group of Vietnam, calling for this electric car company to invest in the production of electric cars in Balkan. This call is made in the context of Bulgaria is actively seeking foreign investment opportunities to promote economic development and…