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On the occasion of the meeting of the European People’s Party in connection with the next session of the European Parliament, where party members will exchange views with President Donald Tusk, MEP Radan Kanev sent the following letter to members of the EPP, expressing his concern about PPE’s passivity about deepening institutional crisis in Bulgaria.
This is what Kanev wrote to Weber and the EPP members:
Dear Manfred,
Dear colleagues,
Before our group meeting (PPE) tomorrow and in connection with the exchange of views with our president, Mr Tusk, I am writing to you again, expressing my concern about the crisis in Bulgaria and the lack of a position of the PPE in this regard. It has been almost two months since I approached you on this issue and obviously, despite the Christmas season, neither the protests in Bulgaria have weakened, nor the crisis that caused them is close to being resolved. However, there is a new trend and a new threat that I warned about in my previous letter: the left groups in the EP are already active and gathering momentum, trying, quite successfully, to replace the EPP as the state party of law, progress and modernization. in the public consciousness. Given that the core of the Bulgarian protesters are young representatives of the educated urban middle voice traditionally associated with the EPP, the risk to the public image and prospects of the EPP in Bulgaria seems quite serious.
The political coalition that most strongly supported the demands of the protests and the rule of law – “Democratic Bulgaria” – is directly linked to the EPP, through its center-right program, through the EPP membership of one of the coalition parties – DSB, through my tenure in the EP as a member of the EPP group. “Democratic Bulgaria” is the most pro-European political force in Bulgaria and the only one that strongly supports all the main priorities of the EU and the EP, including the Green Deal and the digitization program. The support of our voters and young Bulgarians for the EPP is not a given. It is directly related to whether the EPP stands up for its fundamental values, priorities and principles in the specific situation in Bulgaria.
It goes without saying that turning a blind eye to corruption, the conquest of the state, the violation of media freedom, and most importantly, the continued abuse of unlimited powers by the Attorney General is not a way to maintain confidence. of Bulgarian citizens. As you all know, there is an oral question on the crisis of the rule of law in Bulgaria, which is awaiting the approval of the EP groups to be on the agenda. By supporting this debate, our group will send a strong signal to Bulgarian society that we care about all European citizens. It will also allay growing concerns in the Western European media and the public about apparent corruption in Bulgaria related to upcoming budget expenditures under the NextGenerationEU deal and the Green Deal. Ultimately, this will allow our GERB colleagues to deny the alleged dependence of both the country’s corruption forces and the media moguls and the Attorney General.
After more than a decade of unconditional support for the Bulgarian ruling party, I understand the difficult situation the EPP is facing. This situation could have been easily foreseen and managed, through a stronger position on the obvious cases of abuse of power during this period. However, the plenary debate on the rule of law and media freedom does not have to divide our group. If we uphold our core values in such a debate and focus on the issues at stake, namely media market distortions and abuse of power by the Attorney General, no member of the EPP would deny the need for a radical reform and commitment. of the Union, in defense of the rights of Bulgarians as citizens of the EU.
I remain available if you decide to include the oral question on the group’s agenda, and I would be happy to explain the position of “democratic Bulgaria” on the situation in Bulgaria.
Bulgaria
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