[ad_1]
© Associated Press
Despite opposition from the European People’s Party, MEPs adopted a resolution drawn up by the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) on the state of the rule of law in Bulgaria. This happened with 358 votes “in favor”, 277 – “against” and 56 “abstentions”.
The vote on the text, which has no legal consequences for Bulgaria, took place after most of the proposed amendments, mainly those of the European People’s Party, were rejected. The EPP’s position was already visible in the debate on the LIBE resolution, which took place on Monday in the plenary hall of the European Parliament.
Behind the resolution “on the rule of law and fundamental rights in Bulgaria”
however, there was the group “Socialists and Democrats”, which issued a statement before the vote entitled: “For years, the EPP turned a blind eye to the erosion of democracy in Hungary. Do not turn your back on Bulgaria! “
He called on MEPs to support “the Bulgarian people, who have been taking to the streets for months with legitimate demands for an independent judiciary, transparency, the rule of law and democracy.” The arguments support the protesters and their demands to fight corruption, as well as international assessments of freedom of expression and political interference in journalism.
Greens MEP Daniel Freund, who visited Bulgaria before the debate and from whom some of the most critical words about Bulgaria emerged in the room, wrote after the vote on Twitter in Bulgarian: “Brussels is behind you, # Bulgaria. The majority in the European Parliament adopted a clear resolution supporting the protesters’ demands for justice and accountability. Earlier, he had asked MEPs to rally around the text, despite their partisan differences, to “do something together” for Bulgaria.
Who votes for Bulgarian MEPs
The result of the vote was expected on party grounds, as well as that of the Bulgarian MEPs. The Bulgarian MPs from the group of Socialists and Democrats voted “in favor” of the resolution. Of the European People’s Party, only Radan Kanev supported him.
Angel Djambazki of the European Conservatives and Reformists is against it, along with all the other Bulgarians in the EPP. Renew Europe MEPs Atidje Alieva – Veli, Iskra Mihaylova and Ilhan Kyuchyuk abstained.
At European level, those who voted in favor are mainly from the S&D, their opponents, mainly from the PPE. Of the European conservatives and reformists, only one MEP supported her. No one from Renew Europe has turned it down.
What entered and what did not enter the resolution
The final text of the resolution will be published, but it does not contain most of the amendments proposed by the European People’s Party.
Among the amendments that Ramona Strugariou of Renew Europe wanted was the addition of a paragraph highlighting concerns about “challenges to the independence of the prosecution system” and a call on the Bulgarian authorities to improve banking supervision and investigate the disclosures. in the files of the US Financial Crimes Network, according to which three Bulgarian banks participated in the processing of payments for which a high degree of risk of money laundering and connection with the financing of organized crime and terrorism was established .
A total of 48 amendments were proposed to the latest version of the resolution. The list included texts on amendments for accusations against President Rumen Radev that demanded the resignation of the government and violated the neutrality of his position. His name was added to the paragraph, which speaks of corruption allegations involving the prime minister.
Yesterday, Maltese MP Roberta Mezzola tabled an amendment on behalf of the EPP (along with dozens more on her own behalf), which spoke of financing the protests of businessman Vasil Bozhkov, whose name, however, was not explicitly mentioned, but rather a tycoon. of the game with 18 charges. Following criticism, Mezzola dropped the idea.
The results of all voting in the last sitting, including Bulgaria, announced in plenary
Subsequently, most of the amendments were made by the European People’s Party, and it said in a statement that it would not support the resolution lamenting that the rule of law is being used as a “party tool” rather than being used for the good of the Union. One of the arguments was that the call to continue monitoring contradicted the signals sent by the European Commission on the need to leave after the Sofia advances. Subsequently, some EPP MEPs did not follow through on this approach.
The final version did not endorse proposals that significantly mitigated accusations of protests in Bulgaria and protesters’ discontent, a change in passages of police violence against protesters, or a reminder of the importance of political stability for EU institutions. .
There is also the part where it is regretted that Bulgaria has not ratified the Istanbul Convention, although MEP Angel Djambazki presented an amendment for its deletion. The amendment requesting the abolition of the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism (MCV) is not part of the final text either.
Djambazki also called for the deletion of the paragraphs on the Venice Commission’s concerns about obstacles to linguistic diversity in the Electoral Code and that “the right to vote of citizens living abroad” be restricted, as well as the concern LIBE for the changes in the Electoral Code. 7 months before the vote. He also called for the removal of texts with concerns about hate speech against minorities, including the government, the deterioration of respect for the rule of law, democracy and the rule of law; condemning cases of discrimination and an atmosphere of hostility welcoming the ban on the “Onion March”.
Reactions
In the first hour after the announcement of the results, there was no reaction from the ruling party or the MEPs of their parties.
“This is a victory for the Bulgarian citizens,” wrote Elena Yoncheva MEP on Twitter, whose initiative was part of the occasion for the debate on Bulgaria in the EP. “The resolution passed with a significant majority and a breakthrough in the EPP,” Radan Kanev wrote on Facebook. “6 colleagues IN FAVOR and 23 abstentions is an excellent start, with a ‘party line’ to vote against … This is just the beginning of a long and difficult journey. For both Bulgaria and the PPE.”
“The demands they are fighting for in Bulgaria have been supported by Brussels.” This is the title of a press release sent to the media by the organizers of the protests in Bulgaria, the so-called Poison Trio.
Today, the European Parliament adopted a strong resolution on the rule of law and fundamental rights in Bulgaria. With this act, the protests in the country received moral support and we can safely say that the political slap is for the government and citizens. Bulgaria won their demands. “continues the position. “All attempts by the Borisov people to cover up the truth about our country have failed. The Bulgarian government has crashed both in our country and in the European Union.” The Poison Trio defines as the next step “direct linking of EU funds allocated to Bulgaria with the rule of law and the level of corruption”.
[ad_2]
