Bulgarian New Democracy party officially established

12/05/2008

SOFIA, Bulgaria -- The country has a new political party, effective on Sunday (May 11th). Former members of the National Movement for Stability and Progress (NDSV) established the Bulgarian New Democracy (BND) party to protest NDSV leaders elected during the party's congress last summer. Members of parliament affiliated with the BND have been siding with the opposition for the past few months, opposing the cabinet in two no-confidence votes. The BND has positioned itself to the centre-right, in hopes of forming a partnership with other right-wing parties.

In other news, the European Commission (EC) is ramping up its rhetoric towards Bulgaria regarding the utilisation of EU funds. On Sunday, Michael Lee, director-general of the EC Enlargement Directorate, issued a final deadline of June 16th for Bulgaria to prove it is capable of managing EU funding. If that doesn't happen, the EC will reinstate full control over approving funding to Bulgaria, as was the case before the country became an EU member. (24 Chasa, Trud, Dnevnik, Sega, Insurance.bg, BGNES, Netinfo - 12/05/08; BGNES, Darik - 11/05/08)