Tsvetelina Penkova: I do not expect any surprises in the vote on the eurozone and the RMM

I do not expect any surprises in the vote on July 8 on Bulgaria's entry into the eurozone and on the progress report on the Republic of North Macedonia (RNM).

This opinion was expressed to the Bulgarian National Radio by MEP Tsvetelina Penkova from the BSP/PES.

She stressed that the claims of Bulgarian politicians that the approval of Bulgaria's accession to the eurozone was based on falsified data contribute to undermining the prestige of our country, since "the suggestions are that our country is trying to lie to its European partners":

"The fact that these reports and analyses were prepared and approved by the ECB and the EC gives confidence that there can be no speculation, alteration or falsification of any very objective macroeconomic parameters. If there were doubts that the data were incorrect, these two institutions would also have raised them. Let's be objective, when we talk about an expansion of the eurozone, the accession of a new country has an impact on all other members. There is no way the ECB, even with the slightest doubt, can allow itself to endanger the stability of the entire monetary union if there are such doubts. I am convinced that these speculations are not taken seriously and are not based on any real facts and data.

According to Tsvetelina Penkova, prices in Bulgaria and throughout Europe have been rising in recent years, but this has nothing to do with the single European currency.

Three political groups in the EP are "for" dropping "Macedonian identity" from the report on the RSM
In the program "Nedelya 150" The MEP pointed out that the groups of the European People's Party, the Socialists and Democrats (S&D) and "Renew Europe" in the European Parliament have a political agreement to drop all mentions of "Macedonian identity" and "Macedonian language" from the draft progress report on North Macedonia:

"In the plenary, we will propose an amendment to this report, and this amendment includes deleting all references to identity and language. We all united around the position that the purpose of such a report is to provide an objective analysis of the country's progress on its path to European integration. Language and identity are not subject to political assessment. It is a precedent for them to be present in such a report at all. The rapporteur, Thomas Weitz, has quite serious experience in European institutions and is very familiar with the problems and challenges we encounter in the Balkans. Allowing herself to make such an amendment to such an important and sensitive report on Bulgaria, an EU member state, gives grounds to think that there is interference or influence in its direction. This has raised quite serious concerns among colleagues, representatives of many political parties, from many countries.

Penkova announced that, at the initiative of the Socialists, a resolution was adopted within the EP "with a call and task to the Council and the European Commission to review and increase the deadline for the implementation of the projects under the PPA by at least a year and a half, i.e. until February 2028.":

"This is to protect smaller countries in particular. Only 50% of the available funds under the PPA have been absorbed on average at this stage by all countries that could benefit, and the deadlines expire in mid-2026. This raises serious concerns in our country, as members of the EP. ... We hope to receive a positive response from the Council and the EC".