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We are working to have a debate on the situation in Bulgaria in the plenary hall of the European Parliament this month. From there, difficult procedures will follow, which will be directed against Boyko Borissov and his government, his government, not against Bulgarian citizens, announced BSP MEP Elena Yoncheva in an interview for the “Studio Ha” program on television 7 / 8.
In June, even before the protests in Bulgaria, he was assured that the debate would be attended by the Vice President of the European Commission, Vera Yourova, who is in charge of the rule of law. “I look forward to a hearing in the plenary hall, and after that, Mr. Boyko Borissov’s path will be very clear, outside of politics,” Yoncheva added.
“I hope that the European Commission does not turn a blind eye to what is happening in Bulgaria and uses specific mechanisms for Bulgaria,” said the MEP from the group of Socialists and Democrats.
According to Yoncheva, what is happening in the European Parliament is extremely important for Bulgaria and the other member states. “For the first time, on our own initiative, the rule of law verification mechanism, which will now cover all member states, will also address the state of the fight against corruption and freedom of the press,” he said. In addition, the European Parliament, which must approve the EU’s Multiannual Financial Framework, has said it will not accept this funding, which was agreed by the 27 leaders, unless there is a specific mechanism that links the allocation of funds to the rule of law. “Yoncheva added. This particular mechanism is currently being discussed. The MEP predicts that” from now on, when there is a violation of the law, of freedom of the press, when there is no separation of powers, this will affect funding, even for Bulgaria. “
“It has long been thought that if a Bulgarian MEP tells the truth about the country in Brussels, it is a bad thing, it discredits Bulgaria. And this is not the case. It is like not telling a sick person what the diagnosis is and not he knows how to deal with it. In the European Parliament, MEPs point to the ‘sick spot’ in their country and suggest how to treat it. If you don’t say what the problem is, the EU will never take any action, “Yoncheva said.
He recalled that a year ago, the European Parliament constantly spoke of the serious violations of democracy in Hungary and Poland. Bulgaria was not present. “After my first statements in the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) and in the plenary hall that there is an authoritarian state in Bulgaria and there is no separation of powers, that Bulgaria is ruled despotically, my colleagues were surprised. They were not used to hearing such rhetoric about Bulgaria. But over the months, after the accumulation of speeches in the committees, the information to each deputy, my work gradually paid off. This Borissov government is already a passenger. “I hope there are no other Borisovs in the future, because we are not insured against that,” he said.
Elena Yoncheva is convinced that from now on Boyko Borissov will face difficult and difficult times and leave. “Mr Borissov is afraid of him,” said the MEP. According to her, “only a cowardly man can hide from the hearing on Bulgaria in the democracy monitoring group by sending four women. On August 28, instead of the prime minister, Deputy Prime Minister Ekaterina Zaharieva spoke privately behind the discussions on behalf of the Bulgarian institutions., Deputy Minister of Justice Desislava Ahladova (now Minister), Deputy Attorney General Krassimira Filipova and Chairperson of the Commission for Protection against Discrimination Ana Dzhumalieva. “Obviously, Mr. Borissov expected that the sending women had a softer attitude to all this. This is a wrong policy: underestimate the experience of the members of this important commission, who are lawyers with great practice, “Yoncheva said. According to her, the Bulgarian representatives did not competently answer any questions and that is why now Los members of the group are preparing written questions and some of the allegations of the participants were absurd, said the MEP. Harieva was asked about the 111th place in Bulgaria in terms of freedom of the press. “Ms Zaharieva replied that in fact , this place in Bulgaria is due to the murder of journalist Victoria Marinova in 2018, “Elena Yoncheva said. According to her, this shows that” Bulgarian politicians are trying to hide the state of press freedom in Bulgaria “and underestimate conscience of MEPs.
