Bulgaria

The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Asen Vassilev defined the draft financial framework as a "budget for economic growth". It envisages economic growth of 4.8%. It will enter into force on April 1, when the minimum wage will increase from 650 to 710 BGN.

Romania has called "unacceptable" Russia's demand that NATO forces stationed on the alliance's eastern flank be withdrawn as part of security guarantees to de-escalate the crisis in Ukraine, AFP reported.

Russia's Foreign Ministry: NATO forces Must be Withdrawn from Bulgaria and Romania

NATO Deputy Secretary-General Mircea Geoana on Friday rejected Russia's "anachronistic" demand for the Atlantic alliance to withdraw from Romania and Bulgaria, members since 2007.

Bulgarian Prime Minister Kiril Petkov called on Russia to participate in the dialogue with the West in order to reduce tensions.

"Bulgaria is a sovereign state and we have long since made our choice by becoming a member of NATO." This was stated by Bulgarian Prime Minister Kiril Petkov from the parliamentary rostrum in a special statement outside the parliamentary agenda.

Here is the full speech of the Prime Minister:

At the moment, the number of hospitalized patients in Bulgaria is not growing sharply - despite the explosive rise of cases infected with the new variant of COVID-19 Omicron.

COVID-19 in Bulgaria: 8932 New Cases in the Last 24 hours

Key issues raised during the public consultation on the draft law on amendments to the Domestic Violence Protection Act (DVPA) were discussed at the Ministry of Justice.

Representatives of all parties represented in parliament were invited to the working meeting in order to get acquainted with the outlined discussion issues on the bill, the Ministry of Justice announced.

Russia's proposals for security guarantees include the withdrawal of NATO forces from Bulgaria and Romania, which joined the alliance after 1997, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

The National Social Security Institute (NSSI) is starting the payment of the one-time supplement of BGN 75 to the pensions of Bulgarian pensioners who have met the requirements for completed vaccination course or have a booster vaccine dose. This was announced by the National Social Security Institute.

Bulgaria will donate 258,570 doses of Comirnaty vaccine from Pfizer/Biontech to Bosnia and Herzegovina, the government decided.