Petkov

GERB leader Boyko Borissov expressed his perspective on the recent negotiations surrounding the formation of a government, highlighting the challenges and compromises faced during the process.

Tensions flare in Bulgarian politics as Mariya Gabriel, the GERB candidate for Prime Minister, demands an apology for perceived insults and epithets directed towards her. Speaking at a parliamentary briefing, Gabriel expressed her discontent, emphasizing that she had refrained from similar behavior for nine months and expected acknowledgment of her adherence to constitutional norms.

In which cities and towns in Bulgaria will there be a runoff, this is revealed by the data from the Central Election Commission this morning. The data is still inconclusive. The percentages of protocols processed by city are different. As of 1 p.m., they are 100% in all regional cities except Sofia, Plovdiv and Shumen.

Blagoevgrad

The businessman Vasil Bozhkov announced on his Facebook profile that he is returning to Bulgaria this afternoon. Since January 2020, he has been in Dubai, and several investigations are being conducted against him in absentia and he has been declared an internationally wanted man.

"Nobody doubts that there will be no rotation, right?" This was stated by GERB leader Boyko Borissov on the sidelines of parliament regarding the disagreements with the WCC-DB. According to him, they are doing everything "which is on the record" - changing personnel in ministries, agencies, regulators and "appointing their own people everywhere".

It has been established that an adviser to a Bulgarian Prime Minister coordinated the position of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with a Macedonian citizen during the negotiation process of the Republic of North Macedonia with the EU.

"We are seeing attempts from all sides to block the government. I think it is clear that there are reasons for this," the candidate for prime minister from "We Continue the Change - Democratic Bulgaria" Nikolay Denkov told journalists in the parliament.

"As all the EU heads of government gave speeches one after the other, the meeting dragged on late into the night. Prime Minister Petkov, as he tells it, went from one colleague to another during those hours - including Emmanuel Macron and Olaf Scholz.

A worker works at the construction site of the Balkan Stream gas pipeline near the village of Kamenovo, Bulgaria, 01 June 2020. Photo: EPA-EFE/VASSIL DONEV

"This is inevitable and these negotiations will be hard," Hristov told local media, saying that Bulgaria will have no gas resources after September.

"Today, the Ukrainian ambassador demanded that Bulgaria change its previous position and start exporting weapons to Ukraine. This statement proves that we have not exported arms to them so far and refutes the whole manipulative, lying, organized and paid campaign on this subject against me personally, against the former ministry team and the regular government."