North Macedonia's analogy angers Bulgaria
Macedonian Prime Minister Dimitar Kovacevski has caused a diplomatic spat with Bulgaria by referencing the war in Ukraine. "The approach of Bulgaria towards North Macedonia is unfortunately very similar to the discourse that the Russian Federation uses towards Ukraine," he stated, insisting that Sofia is trying to influence domestic politics in Skopje.
The remarks came in response to Bulgarian Vice-president Iliana Yotova, who spoke about the violation of the rights of Macedonian Bulgarians not recognized as Bulgarians. Just months ago the secretary of the Bulgarian club Tsar Boris Treti Hristiyan Pendikov was the victim of a beating.
Yesterday, Macedonian president Stevo Pendarovski had also announced that European members of parliament who represent Bulgaria are not welcome in Macedonia.
Bulgaria forfeits EU money again
Bulgaria will again have to postpone many large infrastructure projects for the next funding period due to the state's failure to fulfil deadlines, according to information published in Capital Weekly and sourced to Deputy Prime Minister for EU funds Atanas Pekanov. Many transportation and environmental projects will be transferred for the period 2021 - 2027, which means losing part of the money and canceling other projects of equal importance.
This year is the last in which the funds from the program period between 2014 and 2020 could be used. According to information from the office of the Deputy Prime Minister Pekanov, the amount of the agreed funds within the framework of the cohesion policy currently amounts to BGN 18.83 billion.
Atanasova claims that Geshev called her
Desislava Atanasova, chairperson of the GERB parliamentary group, is the politician that Ivan Geshev called after he found out that the party's candidate for prime minister, Mariya Gabriel, would request his resignation as chief prosecutor. Atanasova herself made the revelation on national TV, adding that she and Geshev had been in contact before, but not often.
Earlier this week, Geshev said he called a female politician, whom he considered a friend, to ask if it was true that Gabriel sought his removal. However, Geshev did not name the poiltician concerned. The topic triggered a debate about the relationship between GERB and Geshev and their current fallout.
North Macedonia's analogy angers Bulgaria
Macedonian Prime Minister Dimitar Kovacevski has caused a diplomatic spat with Bulgaria by referencing the war in Ukraine. "The approach of Bulgaria towards North Macedonia is unfortunately very similar to the discourse that the Russian Federation uses towards Ukraine," he stated, insisting that Sofia is trying to influence domestic politics in Skopje.
