The European Parliament in Strasbourg discussed the state of the rule of law in Bulgaria. The debate was included in the agenda at the request of the "Renew Europe" group, from whose political family is "Continuing the change".
The debate in the EP was quite heated and lasted about an hour. It was Assen Vassilev's party that reported the debate as successful. The Bulgarian MEPs of the ruling party in our country had a different opinion. They believe that what happened today is propaganda.
Due to the case of Varna Mayor Blagomir Kotsev, the leadership of the "Renew Europe" group, of which "We Continue the Change" is a part, has requested that payments to Bulgaria under the Recovery Plan be suspended, Nova TV reported.
“Let us not be mistaken - what is happening in Bulgaria is not accidental. It is happening in a country where justice is in the hands of the oligarchs and where those who want reforms are treated as enemies of the state. This is the corrupt world of Delyan Peevski and Boyko Borisov," said Valerie Aye, chairman of the "Renew Europe" group in the EP.
A response came from the MEPs of GERB and BSP, recalling the arrest of Boyko Borisov from three years ago.
"This debate has nothing to do with the rule of law. This is a political spectacle, staged with the sole purpose – to inflate the deflated electoral bubble of "We continue the change". Let us recall – in March 2022, the then Prime Minister Kiril Petkov from "Renew Europe" ordered the illegal arrest of Boyko Borisov, Sevdelina Arnaudova and Vladislav Goranov – without evidence, without charges – pure political terror&rdquo, said Andrey Kovachev, EPP/GERB-SDF.
„The leaders of two parties with which the liberals governed together until a year ago are being demonized. Together they wreaked havoc on the Bulgarian constitution, which further created uncertainty in the judicial system. I'll stop there. There are no innocents”, was categorical Kristian Vigenin, Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats/BSP.
And the dispute between the deputies continued.
„When a journalist, mayor or just a citizen, like all of us, can be detained without clear grounds, this is no longer a political dispute”, emphasized Ilhan Küçük, MEP from the "Renew Europe"/DPS group.
„Similar cases, when four Bulgarian citizens were arrested in protests and were released after 33 days without charges, there was no political reaction”, recalled Stanislav Stoyanov, MEP from the "Europe of Sovereign Nations"/"Vazrazhdane" group.
„This debate was initiated by only one political family – in this case by “Renew Europe“ – or by 1/10 of the MEPs, and is used only for political purposes. For this reason, we see that there was no interest from other colleagues. The hall was half empty”, emphasized Elena Yoncheva, an independent MEP/DPS.
The Bulgarian representatives in the EP also differed in their assessments.
“I would not say that raising this topic is an action against Bulgaria. On the contrary - any action to eradicate the problems that Bulgaria has is positive”, explained Nikola Minchev, MEP from the “Renew Europe”/PP-DB group.
“Ultimately, the feeling will remain in this parliament that some Bulgarians are speaking against other Bulgarians. That they spit on their country”, said Ivaylo Valchev, MEP from the group of "European Conservatives and Reformists"/ ITN.