Rumen Radev

Prime Minister Kirill Petkov blamed the mafia and Russia for the fall of his reformist government, foreign media reported after the first successful no-confidence vote in Bulgaria, which toppled the cabinet yesterday.

"30% of Bulgarians already live abroad", announced President Rumen Radev. Yesterday he joined the National Conference on the Bulgarian Language "Sacred Language" at Plovdiv University "Paisii Hilendarski". According to the head of state, our country needs a National Cultural Institute to unite Bulgarian communities abroad through the Bulgarian language and culture.

At the suggestion of DPS and GERB and with the support of "There Is Such a People" and "Vazrazhdane", the meeting of the parliamentary commission, which was to hear Foreign Minister Teodora Genchovska on the French proposal for negotiations with North Macedonia, was postponed.

"We would not have received the French proposal, which is the best so far if Bulgaria had not vetoed two enlargement councils last year with a clear position and argument".

"The proposals of the French Presidency are the best so far, I'm not just talking about Bulgaria - they are the fairest. (...) Let it be clear: we really have progress for a change in the constitution of North Macedonia and the entry of Bulgarians into the document, which I have been insisting on for a long time. It is already accepted for this to happen".

"I expect both the government and the MPs, while deciding on their own political future, not to forget their enormous responsibility to the citizens and the promises made to tackle inflation, the social and economic crisis." This was stated by President Rumen Radev. He attended the awarding of finalists in a programming competition at Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski ".

The Bulgarian veto on the start of negotiations for the membership of North Macedonia in the EU is expected to be the main topic of today's visit of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to Bulgaria.

He arrives in Sofia from Skopje, where he told North Macedonian Prime Minister Dimitar Kovachevski this morning that the country is ready to start EU membership talks.

US President Joe Biden has nominated Kenneth Merten as new US ambassador to Bulgaria. This is stated in a statement by the White House.

Merten (b. 1961) is a career diplomat. Until recently, he was a Chargé d'Affaires at the US Embassy in Haiti. He previously served as Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of Global Talent Management.

French President Emmanuel Macron has expressed readiness to bring together in Paris, "when the time comes", representatives of the authorities in Sofia and Skopje to conclude a bilateral agreement that would allow negotiations to begin on the accession of the Republic of North Macedonia (RNM) to the European Union, AFP reported, quoted by BTA.

Bulgarian President Rumen Radev had a telephone conversation with US Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Karen Donfried, the press office of the head of state announced.