The announcement of early parliamentary elections in Bulgaria threatens to postpone several important issues for Sofia with its EU partners.
The political instability in Bulgaria is not only a domestic issue. It could disrupt several issues with the European Union.
The announcement on Monday of the organization ofearly legislative electionsTHE 7th election in three yearshighlights the difficulties in forming coalitions and, with them, in making Sofia’s voice heard in the best possible conditions in Brussels.
In the immediate term, the absence of a fully functioning government poses a problem for the Next Bulgarian Commissioner within the European Commission. The name of the candidate must be transmitted no later than the end of the month to the president of the institution, Ursula von der Leyen.
In this context, former Bulgarian Deputy Foreign Minister Milen Keremedchiev believes that “It will probably be decided that the current Commissioner Iliana Ivanova will be the new candidate“.
Another hot topic for Bulgaria is theentry into the eurozone. Sofia hopes to join next year the single currency. But political difficulties make this prospect unlikely, according to Dimitar Bechev, a researcher at the Carnegie Europe think tank.
“The plan was for Bulgaria to join the eurozone on January 1, 2025. This goal now seems illusory.“, he explains. “There was no positive report from the European Commission. The inflation target was not met and the caretaker government will probably not have the political strength to control these figures.“
On the other hand, for the analyst, this political situation should not lead to a questioning of the agreement on the partial entry of Sofia into theSchengen area. Since March 31, there is no longer any control at air and sea borders between Bulgaria and other member countries of the free movement area in Europe.
However, Dimitar Bechev believes that Bulgaria may face problems in obtaining the funds allocated to it under the European recovery plan after the Covid-19 pandemic : NextGenerationEUThe payments are, in fact, accompanied by milestones that fully-fledged governments must achieve.