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racketeering,” Kiril Petkov, co-leader of CC, wrote on Facebook.
CC-DB has already said it would no longer work together with Gerb and DPS after its bad experience in the previous parliament.
Peevski, on the other hand, thanked voters and said he personally will take on the responsibility given to the party by its voters.
While a three-party coalition is highly likely after the June 9 vote despite the low turnout, President Rumen Radev said that if the country continues to be governed by “unprincipled coalitions,
a political alternative will appear sooner or later”, indicating that he could develop his own political project.
Radev has been associated with the possible creation of political project after his closest associates established the Third March national movement. Radev did not confirm directly that he intends to form his own party but that is widely expected by analysts and politicians.
He also accused politicians of “ruthlessly stripping off their coverups” to show their true faces. He accused all parties of putting their own interests ahead of the public interest.
Although Radev’s rating decreased significantly after the Russian invasion of Ukraine and his u-turn towards Russia, he still is the politician with the highest rating in the country – around 35%. If he launches his own project, it could significantly change the political landscape and bring Bulgaria firmly back into Russia’s orbit.
Bulgarian parties gained similar results in the vote for European Parliament on June 9 with Gerb leading with around
a quarter of the votes followed by CC-DB, the DPS and Vazrazhdane. The turnout was also low.
“Not a single second since 1879 has
the majority of Bulgarians wanted
to live like Europeans. They wanted
to live like animals: the strong man
to decide what the life of the weak should be,” prominent political analyst Evgenii Dainov wrote on Facebook.
“Bulgarians who want to be Europeans have always been a minority. From time to time, they became a large minority, and even received electoral support. But then always, always,
the notorious second mind of the Bulgarian worked. And he has kicked his pro-European representatives out of power in order to put power back in the hands of those who treat him like an animal. Today we saw another episode,” he added.
PR expert Lubomir Alamanov commented that all political formations contributed to the low turnout with their actions. He called on CC-DB to carry out a profound analysis of its poor result and what led to it, saying that the coalition made significant mistakes, especially in its communications with voters.
Although a Gerb-DPS-ITN coalition seems highly possible, multiple analysts noted that a new snap vote in autumn
is not excluded as Borissov might not want to enter into an official coalition with the DPS.
EU to officially begin accession negotiations with Moldova on June 25
Iulian Ernst in Bucharest
European Union ambassadors agreed on June 15 to start accession negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova, the Belgian EU presidency said quoted by Reuters, adding this would take place at intergovernmental conferences on June 25.
The Commission said a week ago that both countries met all the criteria for accession negotiations formally to begin.
“It is a significant step on Moldova's path to the European Union,” President Maia Sandu commented.
While the accession negotiations are
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complicated and will probably take longer than expected, the beginning of the process is an important political message of support for Moldova’s pro-EU President Sandu, who seeks
to gain another term on October 20. As a counter-reaction, Russia is expected to step up the support provided to its allies in Moldova.
A public referendum on adding the pro-EU orientation of the country to the
constitution will be held on the same day as the presidential elections.
Pressures from pro-Russian political forces are likely to increase in the coming months. Fugitive oligarch Ilan Shor, condemned in Moldova to 15 years of prison for financial crimes related
to billion-dollar frauds, is organising the Pobeda (Victory) political bloc
in Moscow with the support from members of his banned Shor Party
“It is a significant step on Moldova's path to the European Union”