Latest News from Bulgaria

Bulgaria's DPS Takes U-Turn on Majority System

The second-largest opposition party in Bulgaria, the DPS, has backtracked on its calls for a rewording of questions a forthcoming referendum on voting rules.

On Friday Lyutvi Mestan, who heads the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (DPS), told NOVA TV arguments favoring the introduction of a majority system were "irrational".

EU "offered Russia to build pipeline bypassing Serbia"

Ivica Dacic says he learned "from Russian colleagues" that EU officials "offered Russia to build a gas pipeline dubbed Eastern Ring."

This pipeline would go through Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary and Slovakia - bypassing Serbia.

Perperikon Festival to Highlight New Discoveries

For a 14th year running, the Perperikon Festival is to take place at the site of the ancient Thracian city in the Eastern Rhodopes, Bulgaria.

Bulgaria Interior Ministry to Launch Roma Employment Program

Bulgarian Interior Minister Rumyana Bachvarova has said her ministry is starting a program to hire more employees of ethnic Roma origin.

This comes after weeks of tensions between Bulgarian and Roma residents of the village of Garmen, in the country's southwest, and more recently in the Orlandovtsi neighborhood of the capital Sofia.

Bulgaria Interim ex-PM Joining Constitution Committee

Law lecturer Prof Georgi Bliznashki is to join an ad hoc committee in Parliament set up to work on proposed constitutional changes.

Blizhashki, whose academic experience is overwhelmingly in constitutional law, has been a staunch critic of some of the amendments, and his comments have often been met with resentment by pro-reform lobbies.

Southern Bulgaria Submerged in Floods caused by Torrential Rains

Hundreds of houses have been affected and many hectares of crops have been destroyed by torrential rains and hailstorms in Bulgaria's south.

Belozem, a village near Bulgaria's second-biggest city Plovdiv, has been left almost completely sumberged in water, private national NOVA TV channel says.

EU Commission Allocates EUR 55 M to Roma Integration in Bulgaria

More than BGN 110 M, or EUR 55 M, of funding earmarked for Bulgaria under the 2014-2020 operational programs are to be set aside for Roma integration, a EU official has said.

"The money is available now, could be used outright and the work [done with it] has to be complex," according to EU Commission Vice President for Budget and Human Resources Kristalina Georgieva.

BBC: 'Bulgaria's Fortified Frontier a Staging Post for Migrants'

The new border policy of Bulgaria has been discussed in a BBC article. The border police post at Elhovo is the starting point.

Now that a razor-wire fence 1,5 meters thick is now extending along the Southern border with Turkey, Bulgarian officials reportedly believe that the measure is a safer and more effective way to deal with the increased refugee influx to the EU.

Greek Foreign Minister Kotzias Notes Strategic Importance of Balkan Gas Interconnection

The construction of a vertical gas corridor that will be connecting Bulgaria, Greece and Romania was one of the topics discussed at the meeting of Bulgarian Foreign minister Daniel Mitov and his Greek counterpart Nikos Kotzias, BGNES reported.

European Commission Takes Bulgaria, Belgium to Court over Poor Air Quality

The European Commission is referring Belgium and Bulgaria to EU Court of Justice over persistently high levels of the dust particles which pose a major risk to public health.

Despite an obligation for Member States to ensure good air quality for citizens, air quality has been a problem in many places for a number of years now, according to a media statement of the EC.

Bulgarian Socialists Summon Sufficient Support for Constitutional Appeal of New Debt of BGN 16 B

The Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP), the Alternative for Bulgarian Revival (ABV) and independent MP Velizar Enchev have collected 48 signatures in favor of referring to the Constitutional Court the ratification of the contract for the issue of new debt worth up to BGN 16 B.