Speaker suggests options for restoring MECH party
Parliament Speaker Natalia Kiselova announced that the dissolved MECH parliamentary group could be re-established either by amending the parliamentary rules or by adopting a resolution to address the implications of a Constitutional Court ruling.
Kiselova emphasized that she had warned MECH members that the resignation of MP Samuil Slavov on March 19 jeopardized their group's existence. Denying allegations of external pressure, Kiselova condemned an alleged secret recording of her, stating that it violated constitutional protections against unauthorized recordings.
It is feared that rapid and uncoordinated actions regarding the re-admission of MECH could further exacerbate ongoing constitutional turmoil.
Business calls for comprehensive Interior Ministry reform
Business organizations are pushing for a reform of Bulgaria's Ministry of Interior (MVR), while mostly rejecting proposals tabled by Democratic Bulgaria.
This emerged during a Tripartite Council meeting discussing the draft law from We Continue the Change - Democratic Bulgaria, which introduces a new method for calculating police salaries.
Only the Bulgarian Industrial Capital Association (AICB) fully supported the proposal, while the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) and the Bulgarian Industrial Association (BIA) emphasized the need for deeper reforms. Critics noted that Bulgaria has the highest ratio of Interior Ministry staff per capita in the EU, with more than 95% of the ministry's budget going to salaries and social benefits.
While BCCI endorsed some aspects of the law, it advocated reducing severance payments for retiring officers while opposing linking salaries directly to gross pay. Employers and unions agreed that piecemeal solutions won't work, with union representatives calling the draft "patchwork" and insufficient for systemic change.
Cocaine worth 19m levs seized at Port of Burgas
The Burgas District Prosecutor's Office is leading an investigation into the attempted smuggling of nearly 41 kilograms of cocaine, valued at 19 million levs.
The narcotics were discovered on March 21 aboard a ship carrying containers of bananas from South America, which had docked at the Port of Burgas. Bulgarian companies specializing in banana trade were listed as the shipment's recipients. Customs officers detected anomalies during a scan of one container, revealing 35 cocaine packages hidden in the cooling unit's compartments.
Speaker suggests options for restoring MECH party
Parliament Speaker Natalia Kiselova announced that the dissolved MECH parliamentary group could be re-established either by amending the parliamentary rules or by adopting a resolution to address the implications of a Constitutional Court ruling.
