Expats

Bulgaria's Ex President Parvanov Back to Socialist Party [Feb 02, 2012] Bulgaria's former President Georgi Parvanov, who completed his second 5-year term on January 22, 2012, has already re-joined his native Socialist Party. Parvanov was the leader of the Bulgarian Socialist Party (technically the descendant of the Bulgarian Communist Party) between 1997 and 2001, when he quit since he got elected to the Bulgarian Presidency, which paved the way for his successor ... [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria Scraps Full Ban on Shale Gas Exploration, Extraction [Jan 18, 2012] Bulgaria's Parliament did not support the bill proposed by the left-wing Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) that envisioned a full ban on the exploration and extraction in the country. 123 out of the total of 240 MPs in Bulgaria's single-chamber Parliament voted against the bill, while 43 were in favor and 66 abstained from voting. Prior to Wednesday's vote, Valentin Nikolov, a key lawmaker from ... [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria's Rulers Go for Temporary Ban on Shale Gas Exploration [Jan 16, 2012] Bulgaria's ruling center-right party GERB has decided to approve a temporary moratorium on the exploration and extraction of shale gas amidst a day after mass protest rallies took place in 12 Bulgarian cities over the issue. Thus, the Parliamentary Group of the GERB party will accept the proposals of the opposition Bulgarian Socialist Party, the nationalist party Ataka, and the marginal ... [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria's Outgoing President to Announce His Fate on February 4 - Report [Jan 11, 2012] Bulgaria's President Georgi Parvanov, whose second and last term in office ends on January 22, will announce his plans for his political future on February 4, according to a media report. By then, Parvanov is expected to renew his membership in the left-wing Bulgarian Socialist Party, dnevnik.bg reports, citing its own sources. ... [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria's Outgoing President Hints of Comeback as Head of Socialist Party [Nov 11, 2011] Georgi Parvanov, Bulgaria's outgoing President, has confirmed that he will return to the left-wing Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) after the end of his second and last term in office. During a press conference on which he commented on the outcome of the recent local elections, as well as a number of other present-day issues, Parvanov vowed to help the leftist from which he started his political ... [via YahooNews] More >>

PES Throws Weight Behind Bulgaria Schengen Entry [Oct 04, 2011] The Party of European Socialists(PES) is firmly behind Bulgaria's Schengen accession as soon as possible, PES Secretary General Philip Cordery has declared. "I am convinced that if (Bulgarian Socialist Party leader) Sergey Stanishev was still Prime Minister and if Ivaylo Kalfin was Bulgarian President now, Bulgaria would have already be a part of the Schengen area," Cordery stated in an ... [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria's GERB Presidential Bidder with Lead in Latest Pol [Sep 18, 2011] The presidential candidate of the ruling, center-right Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria, GERB, party, Rosen Plevneliev, has a significant lead in the latest poll. The data from the poll was released Sunday by the Mediana polling agency and announced by the Bulgarian National Radio, BNR. If elections were to be held now ? the candidate of the opposition Bulgarian Socialist Party, BSP ... [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria Govt Expectedly Survives Third No Confidence Vote [Jul 26, 2011] Bulgaria's center-right government of Prime Minister Boyko Borisov expectedly survived on Tuesday a no confidence vote, submitted by the opposition over its alleged failure in home affairs and Schengen accession. A total of 143 members of parliament voted against the motion, 91 supported it, while 1 abstained. MPs from the Bulgarian Socialist Party and the ethnic Turkish party DPS (Movement for ... [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria's Opposition Embarks on 3rd No Confidence Motion [Jul 25, 2011] Bulgaria's parliament starts at midday on Monday the debates over yet another no confidence motion against the center-right government of Boyko Broisov, which has hardly any chances of being passed. MPs from the Bulgarian Socialist Party and the ethnic Turkish party DPS (Movement for Rights and Freedoms) submitted the third no confidence motion a week ago. The opposition's motives for the no ... [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria's Opposition Embarks on 3rd Doomed No Confidence Motion [Jul 18, 2011] Bulgaria's centrist and leftist opposition has tabled to Parliament a no confidence motion for the Borisov Cabinet which has hardly any chances of being passed. MPs from the Bulgarian Socialist Party and the ethnic Turkish party DPS (Movement for Rights and Freedoms) submitted the third no confidence motion of the government of the center-right party GERB Monday afternoon. The opposition's ... [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria's Cabinet Faces New No-Confidence Vote in July [Jul 10, 2011] The cabinet of Bulgaria's ruling Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria, GERB, party would, for sure, face another no-confidence vote in July. The information was reported Sunday by the leader of the opposition Bulgarian Socialist Party, BSP, and former Prime Minister, Sergey Stanishev, who said the Socialists would support the no-confidence vote request of the leader of the right-wing ... [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria's Opposition Socialists Mull New No Confidence Vote [Jun 21, 2011] The opposition Bulgarian Socialist Party, BSP, begins another round of consultations with other political forces for the submission of a new no confidence vote against the cabinet. The news was announced Tuesday, at a meeting of the party's leadership. The Socialists are considering two motives for the vote ? failure in the internal affairs policies or overall failure of the cabinet. ... [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria's Opposition Socialists, Turks Move to Topple Borisov Cabinet [Jun 01, 2011] The two major opposition formations ? the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) and the ethnic Turkish party DPS ? have agreed on a course of seeking to bring about early elections. The parliamentary groups of the BSP and DPS ("Movement for Rights and Freedoms) announced Wednesday that they have decided together to initiate two no confidence votes against the government of Prime Minister Boyko Borisov ... [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria's President Against Early Parliamentary Elections [May 26, 2011] The holding of early parliamentary elections in the fall of 2011 will be detrimental to Bulgaria, according to Bulgarian President Georgi Parvanov. Parvanov, who was the leader of the Bulgarian Socialist Party before he became President in 2001, has declared himself against early general elections somewhat surprisingly because many ? including Prime Minister Boyko Borisov ? believe that his ... [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria's Ex Top Cop Renews Attacks on US Diplomats [May 18, 2011] Former Bulgarian Interior Minister, Rumen Petkov, launched Wednesday a new attack on the former US Ambassador to Sofia, John Beyrle and the current one - James Warlick. In an interview for TV7, Petkov, who is currently a Member of the Parliament from the opposition Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP), said he was "astonished to learn that US Ambassadors write cables based on rumors and gossip, which ... [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria MPs Urged to Ban Life Sentence without Parole [Apr 27, 2011] A proposal for the abolishment of the heaviest sentence in Bulgaria's Penal Code, life imprisonment without parole, has been tabled to parliament by a socialist. "The criminal is a human being and nobody has the right to deprive him of hope. Hope is the last to die," argues Lyuben Kornezov, MP from the Bulgarian Socialist Party, and cites the example set by thirteen EU member states, which have ... [via YahooNews] More >>

Socialist Leader: Bulgaria Remains Poorest EU Country [Apr 15, 2011] Bulgaria remains the poorest country in the EU, and government's priority must be a catch-up development of the economy and of people's income, according to Socialist leader Sergey Stanishev. The ex PM and Bulgarian Socialist Party chair spoke in Parliament Friday where the opposition Socialists called for a debate in Parliament on Bulgaria's accession to the Euro-Plus-Pact, a grouping of euro ... [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria Socialists: We're Ready to Rule, Any Time, Any Place [Apr 05, 2011] The chief goal of the Bulgarian Socialist Party for the presidential elections in the fall is not to let the candidate of the ruling center-right GERB party to win, stated leader Sergey Stanishev. Speaking at a regular Tuesday press-conference, Stanishev expressed confidence that the winning candidate will be the one tabled by the Socialists, but added that his party is willing to back the best ... [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria's Ex-Interior Head Vows to Roast US Ambassador [Mar 09, 2011] Rumen Petkov, Bulgaria's controversial ex-Interior Minister has said he will send letters to the US Senate and Congress bashing US Ambassador to Bulgaria James Warlick. In the letters, Petkov, who is currently an MP from the leftist Bulgarian Socialist Party, will 'sketch some typical tendencies in US Ambassador James Warlick's behavior'. Petkov's war against Warlick was triggered at the end of ... [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria's Far Left Rises against Remembrance of Communism Victims [Jan 31, 2011] The Bulgarian Left political party has denounced the decision of the center-right government to declare February 1 to remember the victims of the communist regime (1944-1989). The "Bulgarian Left", formed in 2009 by members of the Bulgarian Socialist Party, the direct descendant of the former Bulgarian Communist Party, who saw the mainstream Socialists as not being leftist enough, issued a ... [via YahooNews] More >>