VMRO party

A protest by extreme nationalists prevented a screening at the "Odeon" cinema on Saturday (June 10) as part of the Sofia Pride Film Fest, reported organizers from the "Deistvie" Organization. It is part of the cultural program of "Sofia Pride", the biggest event of the LGBTQ+ community in Sofia and Bulgaria. The procession will take place on June 17.

The Supreme Administrative Court (SAC) on Monday reversed a decision by the Commission for Protection against Discrimination (CPC) which had found that a controversial statement by nationalist VMRO party leader and former Defence Minister Krassimir Karakachanov did not violate the established rules.

Krassimir Karakachanov's ultra-nationalist VMRO party's executive met on May 13 to discuss options for its approach to the July parliamentary elections, including standing alone or in a coalition with like-minded formations.

Ultra-nationalist parties won no seats in Bulgaria's April 4 parliamentary elections.

National Assembly Deputy Chair Christian Vigenin opened and closed the plenary session on Wednesday after MPs failed to adopt an agenda for the work of Parliament in the two plenary days before Easter.

The nationalist VMRO party is seeking annulment of results of voting in Turkey for a new Bulgarian parliament. The party position was made public at a news briefing by Angel Dzhambazki, one of the two VMRO representatives in the European Parliament.

Bulgaria's Parliament Speaker Tsveta Karayancheva said on April 2 she has called an extraordinary sitting tomorrow. The agenda will include the proposed extension of the coronavirus state of emergency and updating of the budget.

Bulgaria's defence minister has hit out at "unreasonable" Greek plans to build a camp near their border to shelter asylum seekers amid a migration surge from Turkey, AFP reported, quoted by various media including Focus News Agency.

Amnesty International has strongly criticised a call for Bulgaria's Prosecutor-General, Sotir Tsatsarov, to dissolve the country's biggest human rights group, the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee, BHC, describing it as "an unprecedented attempt to silence independent and critical voices by the authorities".

The LGBTI community in Sofia and its supporters took to the streets of the Bulgarian capital on Saturday in a colourful celebration of diversity, despite a backlash from conservative "pro-family" groups and homophobic political forces.

The 2019 Pride, which is the twelfth such event to take place in the country, went ahead under the motto "Empower love, not hate".

A right wing MP has threatened an LGBTI photography exhibition meant to take place in Plovdiv, the 2019 European Capital of Culture co-host.

Opening in July, the exhibition is called 'Balkan Pride'. However, politicians have said they will try to stop the exhibition by any means necessary.