Bulgaria will not ratify the charter of Donald Trump's Board of Peace, although the country's Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov has signed it, MEP Manfred Weber told the group of the European People's Party (EPP) in the European Parliament, as quoted by MEP Radan Kanev in a Facebook post. The news is covered by Dnevnik.bg and other media. During an EPP meeting in Zagreb last weekend, Bulgaria's GERB leader Boyko Borissov reportedly told Weber that "some special issues" between the United States and Bulgaria made it necessary for Zhelyazkov to sign the document, but Sofia will not ratify it. Kanev commented: "I was concerned to learn that there are special issues between Bulgaria and the United States. I suspect – and hope – that these issues are personal, not national. I would be aggrieved if personal issues entailed national humiliation and risks."
Radev's allegations, which were referred to by MPs of Continue the Change – Democratic Bulgaria (CC-DB), were met with indignation from Denitsa Sacheva, Deputy Floor Leader of GERB-UDF, according to a news report on MediaPool.bg. Sacheva's remarks came after Ivaylo Mirchev (CC-DB) said that signing the Board of Peace charter and then stating that it will not be ratified was an instance of hypocrisy. Sacheva replied by saying that it is very bad to leak a conversation with Bulgaria's partners, which was not held on camera and which concerned Bulgaria's national security. Sacheva stressed that the "special issues" have to do with this country's "energy security and national security."
"What Two-Speed Europe Means," caps the cover story in the Capital weekly. The magazine says that the security guarantees upon which the European Union was built after World War II are weakening; the global trade system is breaking into separate blocs; and the strategic rivalry between the United States and China exposes Europe to the risk of being an arena rather than an active factor in world politics. The question is not whether the EU should change but how it can do it swiftly and resolutely enough.
The idea of forming a hard core of six countries (Germany, France, Poland, Spain, Italy and the Netherlands) has resurfaced, the analysis goes. With their combined economic worth of EUR 13.5 trillion, accounting for 65% of the EU economy, the six are willing to take on a leading role in deepening integration – in the fields of defence, foreign policy, industrial strategy and fiscal coordination. The important thing, according to Capital, is whether the proposed core will, indeed, become a driver of deeper integration, or whether it will institutionalize the division between "the first track" and the "second track" in Europe. Basically, the goal is clear: the EU should have a strong and well-working economy and a single voice on the international scene which does not simply echo Washington or Beijing.
Discussing where Bulgaria stands in these developments, the analysis says that a well-working balance for Europe can be found in the realization that unity no longer means sameness. The core will inevitably federalize in the areas of defence and finance in order to survive, while the periphery will develop according to its capacity for reform. Bulgarian MEP Kristian Vigenin has told the weekly: "[I]f the core countries want to build an exclusive elite club, we must oppose it firmly. A multi-speed EU is a bad idea because it will leave us in the periphery. If, however, the concept is that they become a motor for the EU, not wall themselves off but together pull the other countries forward, the initiative can be useful." Vigenin insisted that Bulgaria should be very cautious. He said that segregation should be prevented from recurring in Europe. "The new reality calls for a smaller but stronger core, and the lack of a clear strategy about how Bulgaria should position itself vis-a-vis the core holds a risk with long-term implications," Vigenin said.
A strong people's party can provide an antidote to the weakness of Bulgaria's multi-party system, political scientist and historian Trendafil Mitev writes on Trud.bg. He says that all the parties which exist nowadays are unable to run the country effectively. "The solution is to establish a new party of the people. It can and should rally the people around small business ownership, the working class, those working in the agrarian sector, the nationally responsible intelligentsia." This is the public and political zone where former president Rumen Radev should use his energy, the author suggests.Â
Bulgaria has narrowed income disparities compared with OECD countries, albeit at a slower pace than other economies of the region, according to the organization's latest economic survey of Bulgaria, SegaBG.com reports. Labour productivity growth, however, is lagging. The average per-capita income in the country has reached 60% of the OECD average. The survey was presented by OECD Secretary-General Mathias Cormann in Sofia on Thursday. He hop
Radev's allegations, which were referred to by MPs of Continue the Change – Democratic Bulgaria (CC-DB), were met with indignation from Denitsa Sacheva, Deputy Floor Leader of GERB-UDF, according to a news report on MediaPool.bg. Sacheva's remarks came after Ivaylo Mirchev (CC-DB) said that signing the Board of Peace charter and then stating that it will not be ratified was an instance of hypocrisy. Sacheva replied by saying that it is very bad to leak a conversation with Bulgaria's partners, which was not held on camera and which concerned Bulgaria's national security. Sacheva stressed that the "special issues" have to do with this country's "energy security and national security."
"What Two-Speed Europe Means," caps the cover story in the Capital weekly. The magazine says that the security guarantees upon which the European Union was built after World War II are weakening; the global trade system is breaking into separate blocs; and the strategic rivalry between the United States and China exposes Europe to the risk of being an arena rather than an active factor in world politics. The question is not whether the EU should change but how it can do it swiftly and resolutely enough.
The idea of forming a hard core of six countries (Germany, France, Poland, Spain, Italy and the Netherlands) has resurfaced, the analysis goes. With their combined economic worth of EUR 13.5 trillion, accounting for 65% of the EU economy, the six are willing to take on a leading role in deepening integration – in the fields of defence, foreign policy, industrial strategy and fiscal coordination. The important thing, according to Capital, is whether the proposed core will, indeed, become a driver of deeper integration, or whether it will institutionalize the division between "the first track" and the "second track" in Europe. Basically, the goal is clear: the EU should have a strong and well-working economy and a single voice on the international scene which does not simply echo Washington or Beijing.
Discussing where Bulgaria stands in these developments, the analysis says that a well-working balance for Europe can be found in the realization that unity no longer means sameness. The core will inevitably federalize in the areas of defence and finance in order to survive, while the periphery will develop according to its capacity for reform. Bulgarian MEP Kristian Vigenin has told the weekly: "[I]f the core countries want to build an exclusive elite club, we must oppose it firmly. A multi-speed EU is a bad idea because it will leave us in the periphery. If, however, the concept is that they become a motor for the EU, not wall themselves off but together pull the other countries forward, the initiative can be useful." Vigenin insisted that Bulgaria should be very cautious. He said that segregation should be prevented from recurring in Europe. "The new reality calls for a smaller but stronger core, and the lack of a clear strategy about how Bulgaria should position itself vis-a-vis the core holds a risk with long-term implications," Vigenin said.
A strong people's party can provide an antidote to the weakness of Bulgaria's multi-party system, political scientist and historian Trendafil Mitev writes on Trud.bg. He says that all the parties which exist nowadays are unable to run the country effectively. "The solution is to establish a new party of the people. It can and should rally the people around small business ownership, the working class, those working in the agrarian sector, the nationally responsible intelligentsia." This is the public and political zone where former president Rumen Radev should use his energy, the author suggests.Â
Bulgaria has narrowed income disparities compared with OECD countries, albeit at a slower pace than other economies of the region, according to the organization's latest economic survey of Bulgaria, SegaBG.com reports. Labour productivity growth, however, is lagging. The average per-capita income in the country has reached 60% of the OECD average. The survey was presented by OECD Secretary-General Mathias Cormann in Sofia on Thursday. He hop