The negotiations of the leading party in the Bulgarian government, ‘We Continue the Change’, to join the liberal group in the EU Parliament are at an advanced stage, a source told EURACTIV Bulgaria.
“Negotiations are at a fairly advanced stage. The question for us is through which of the parties in “Renew Europe” will enter the group – through the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) or the Macron movement (Renaissance)”, a source from ‘We Continue the Change’ said.
‘We Continue the Change’ holds most ministerial portfolios in the government, an uneasy alliance between ‘We Continue the Change’-‘Democratic Bulgaria’ and EPP-affiliated GERB of Boyko Borissov.
To join ALDE, ‘We Continue the Change’ needs the green light of the mostly ethnic Turkish ‘Movement for Rights and Freedoms’ (DPS), which is already a member.
Bringing ‘We Continue the Change’ in the liberal political family is a good move for obtaining political support from the Netherlands for Bulgaria’s Schengen accession.
While the Netherlands, along with Austria, vetoed Bulgaria’s accession to the visa-free zone, co-chairman of We Continue the Change, Kiril Petkov, has boasted of good relations with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, who is also a member of the liberal political family.
New Bulgarian commissioner
‘We Continue the Change’ is also trying to get the Commissioner position which is up for grabs after Mariya Gabriel returned to politics in Bulgaria. EURACTIV Bulgaria was informed that the government plans to nominate Daniel Laurer, a former innovation minister in Petkov’s cabinet.
However, Commission spokesperson Eric Mamer told EURACTIV on Friday that Commission President Ursula von der Leyen wants to keep the gender balance in the EU executive, meaning the candidate is expected to be a woman.
Gabriel, who now holds the post of minister of foreign affairs, will meet von der Leyen in Brussels on Monday, and the issue of the Bulgarian nomination for Commissioner features high on the agenda.
The political affiliation of the Bulgarian commissioner is also a matter of interest for von der Leyen, EURACTIV was told. Gabriel is EPP-affiliated, and von der Leyen, from the same political family, would like her successor to represent the centre-right family.
According to rumours, MEP Eva Maydell would ideally suit von der Leyen, but it is unclear if ‘We Continue the Change’ would accept to nominate a Commissioner from GERB.
(Emiliya Milcheva, Georgi Gotev, Krasen Nikolov | EURACTIV.bg)
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