Historic day for Bulgaria! After 26 years, the Council of Europe has decided to close the post-monitoring dialogue with our country, said Denitsa Sacheva, a GERB-SDF MP and Vice-President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) on Facebook.
By voting in the plenary hall, the majority of all political groups supported the adoption of a special resolution on Bulgaria, which notes that Bulgaria has achieved significant progress in strengthening democracy, the rule of law and the protection of human rights, Sacheva wrote.
The resolution also states that the country has carried out key reforms in the judicial system, the fight against corruption and the protection of freedom of speech, as well as that legislative changes have been adopted to protect victims of domestic violence, combat hate speech and better protect journalists.
The European Commission has already terminated the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism, and from January 1, 2026, Bulgaria will join the eurozone, she added. Sacheva.
PACE stressed that it would continue to monitor developments in Bulgaria within the framework of regular periodic reviews. Work on this resolution lasted almost two years, and in June Boyko Borisov met with PACE President Theodoros Rosopoulos, who visited Bulgaria at the invitation of the Bulgarian Parliament and called on him to drop the monitoring procedure for Bulgaria, says Denitsa Sacheva.
Bulgaria joined the Council of Europe in 1992, and until 2000 it was placed under full monitoring. With Resolution 1211 (2000), PACE decided to end full monitoring and start the so-called post-monitoring dialogue, monitoring outstanding issues and providing a regular assessment of the progress achieved.