Bulgaria

Bulgarian president dissolves parliament, calls snap election in April

Bulgarian President Rumen Radev dissolved the national parliament on Thursday and called for an early general election on April 2, the presidential press service announced. It will be the fifth…

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EU Commission will not fund migration wall with Turkey

The European Commission will not fund the construction of a wall between Bulgaria and Turkey, spokesman Eric Mamer said during a daily briefing with the press. "The Commission will not…

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Bulgaria faces snap polls as Socialists abandon plans to form government

SOFIA (Reuters) - Bulgaria is facing new general election in the spring, the country's fifth in two years, after the Socialists on Friday gave up on plans to form a…

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Bulgaria’s inflation flat at 16.9% y/y in December

SOFIA, Jan 16 (Reuters) - Bulgaria's consumer price inflation remained unchanged at 16.9% on an annual basis in December from a month earlier, data from the statistics office showed on…

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Bulgaria’s Socialists get the final chance to form a government

SOFIA, Jan 16 (Reuters) - In a last attempt to end Bulgaria's prolonged political deadlock, President Rumen Radev has invited the Socialist Party to try and form a government, its…

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Bulgaria launches probe of crypto lender Nexo, raids sites

SOFIA, Jan 12 (Reuters) - Bulgarian prosecutors have launched an investigation into alleged illegal activities conducted by cryptocurrency lender Nexo, they said on Thursday, raiding more than 15 sites in…

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Photo Story: Christmas decoration in Sofia

People take pictures of a Nativity scene showing the birth of Jesus Christ in Sofia, Bulgaria. Via EPA-EFE/VASSIL DONEV

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UPDATED: Bulgaria’s GERB fails to win approval for technocrat government

SOFIA, Dec 14 (Reuters) - Bulgaria's parliament on Wednesday rejected a technocrat government proposed by the centre-right GERB party, deepening a prolonged political impasse in the Balkan country and bringing…

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Bulgaria presses doubters before vote on Schengen zone entry

Bulgarian Prime Minister Galab Donev on Monday said the Netherlands was opposing Bulgaria's bid to join the EU's passport-free Schengen travel region, ahead of a meeting of Europe's home affairs…

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Bulgaria charges five people in connection with Istanbul blast

SOFIA (Reuters) -Bulgarian prosecutors have charged five people for supporting terrorist acts in connection with an explosion in central Istanbul that killed six people on Nov. 13, chief prosecutor Ivan…

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EU pushes to add Bulgaria, Croatia, Romania to free-travel zone

BRUSSELS, Nov 16 (Reuters) - The European Commission called on Wednesday for Bulgaria, Croatia and Romania to be admitted to the Ylva Johanssonarea to allow travel between these countries and…

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Bulgarian lawmakers give government month to devise Ukraine military aid plan

SOFIA (Reuters) - Bulgaria should send military aid to Ukraine, the parliament decided, giving the caretaker government one month to come up with a plan for what weapons the Black…

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Bulgarian parliament backs call to speed up work on euro zone entry

SOFIA, Oct 28 (Reuters) - Bulgaria's caretaker government needs to speed up talks with European Union institutions to ensure that the country does not miss its target date of January…

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EP urges Member States to allow Romania and Bulgaria in Schengen area

The European Parliament has urged member states to allow Romania and Bulgaria to join the Schengen free-travel area without delay. In a resolution adopted earlier today, MEPs called on the…

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Bulgaria’s inflation increases to 18.7% y/y in September

SOFIA, Oct 17 (Reuters) - Bulgaria's consumer prices rose by 18.7% on an annual basis in September from an increase of 17.7% in August, reaching a new 24-year high, as…

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Centre-right GERB party leads in Bulgaria election -partial results

SOFIA, Oct 2 (Reuters) - The centre-right GERB party of former Prime Minister Boyko Borissov won Sunday's parliamentary election in Bulgaria, with 25.4% of votes, results from 99% of ballots counted showed…

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Bulgaria’s GERB party seen leading in election, exit polls show

UPDATE 2-Bulgaria's GERB party seen winning national election SOFIA, Oct 2 (Reuters) - The GERB party of ex-Prime Minister Boyko Borissov looked set to win Sunday's election in Bulgaria, the nation's fourth…

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Russia overshadows vote in Bulgaria

Few countries in Europe take more of their gas from Russia than Bulgaria - and yet Bulgarians are increasingly asking themselves whether they really need it. Energy is top of…

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Weary Bulgarians fear more political turmoil after latest election

DAVIDKOVO, Bulgaria, (Reuters) - Bulgarians bracing for their fourth election in less than two years face a winter of want amid soaring inflation driven by the war in Ukraine, making…

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Greece-Bulgaria pipeline starts operations to boost non-Russian gas flows

SOFIA, Oct 1 (Reuters) - Greece and Bulgaria started commercial operation of a long-delayed gas pipeline on Saturday which will help decrease southeast Europe's dependence on Russian gas and boost energy security.…

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Bulgaria’s GERB party expands lead ahead of Sunday’s election

SOFIA, Sept 30 (Reuters) - Bulgaria's centre-right GERB party widened its lead over its main rival, the reformist We Continue the Change (PP), as the country heads into its fourth…

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Bulgaria inches closer to buying more F-16s to replace Russian jets

Bulgaria inched closer to buying a second batch of eight new F-16 aircraft and related equipment from the United States in a deal valued at $1.30 billion, interim Defence Minister…

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Bulgaria’s GERB party leads ahead of Oct. 2 election

SOFIA, Sept 1 (Reuters) - Bulgaria's centre-right GERB party widened its lead over its main rival, the reformist We Continue the Change (PP) a month ahead of the country's fourth…

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Bulgaria says talks to resume Russian gas supplies are ‘inevitable’

Bulgaria's interim energy minister said it was "inevitable" that the Balkan country would discuss resuming gas deliveries with Russia's Gazprom GAZP.MM that were halted in April, after the government promised to secure…

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Bulgaria faces fresh polls after Socialists drop bid to form government

SOFIA, July 27 (Reuters) - Bulgaria's Socialist party abandoned plans on Wednesday to propose a new coalition government after failing to scrape together a majority in parliament, a development that…

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Bulgaria election likely after centre-right party refuses to form government

SOFIA, July 14 (Reuters) - Bulgaria's centre-right GERB party refused on Thursday to form a new government, bringing the Balkan country closer to snap polls in the autumn. Bulgaria is…

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Photo Story: Protests in Skopje

A woman waves the old Macedonian flag during a protest against the French proposal to resolve the dispute between North Macedonia and Bulgaria in front of the Parliament building in…

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Greece says gas link with Bulgaria completed, can start operation this month

ATHENS, July 6 (Reuters) - A long-delayed gas pipeline between Greece and Bulgaria aimed at helping Sofia cut its reliance on Russian gas has been completed and can start commercial operations this…

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Photo Story: Lavender harvest in Bulgaria

A farmer harvests lavender flowers in a field near the town of Shabla, Bulgaria. Bulgaria, currently the largest producer of lavender oil in the world have overtaken France, which had…

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Russian envoy to Bulgaria to ask Moscow to shut embassy after mass expulsions

Russia's ambassador to Bulgaria said she would ask Moscow to close its embassy in the Balkan country after her appeal for Sofia to reverse what she called an unprecedented hostile…

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Bulgaria destroys naval mine off its Black Sea coast

SOFIA, July 1 (Reuters) - Bulgaria's military late on Thursday carried out a controlled explosion of a Soviet-era naval mine that had drifted close to the country's Black Sea coast, the defence…

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UPDATED: Bulgaria’s outgoing PM rejects Russian ultimatum, unveils potential successor

SOFIA, July 1 (Reuters) - Bulgaria's outgoing Prime Minister Kiril Petkov rejected a Russian ultimatum to reverse a decision to expel 70 Russian diplomatic staff by noon on Friday and named the country's finance…

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Bulgaria closer to early election

Bulgaria's Socialists, allies in the outgoing coalition government of Prime Minister Kiril Petkov, said they would not back a new Petkov-led Cabinet, angry with the expulsion of 70 Russian diplomats.…

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Bulgarian parliament greenlights N Macedonia’s EU membership negotiation

Bulgaria's parliament gave the government the green light on Friday to approve a European Union membership negotiation framework for North Macedonia, in a move that may allow its northern neighbour…

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Albania’s PM slams Bulgaria on Western Balkan EU membership

Bulgaria's block on North Macedonia's progress to join the European Union is a "disgrace", Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama said as he arrived for a special Balkans summit with EU…

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Bulgarian government faces no-confidence vote and political turmoil

SOFIA, June 22 (Reuters) - A no-confidence vote on Wednesday threatens to topple Bulgaria's government and Prime Minister Kiril Petkov, who pledged to tackle corruption and took an unusually strong stance against…

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Bulgarian foreign, energy ministers quit, deepening coalition crisis

SOFIA, June 13 (Reuters) - Bulgaria's foreign and energy ministers resigned on Monday after their party, the populist ITN, quit the governing coalition last week, compounding the Balkan country's political…

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Bulgaria faces risk of political instability as PM loses majority

Bulgaria's prime minister pledged to lead a minority government on Wednesday as the populist ITN party quit the government over disagreements on budget spending and whether Bulgaria should back North…

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Russia’s Lavrov visit to Serbia denied as Bulgaria, North Macedonia, and Montenegro refuse use of airspace

Serbian president Aleksandar Vucic on Monday morning met with Russian ambassador Aleksandr Botsan-Kharcenko, who informed him of the reasons that prevented Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov from arriving in Belgrade. "Ambassador…

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Centrist MEPs irked at objections to North Macedonia’s EU accession process

The European Council's persistent lack of consensus on launching accession discussions with North Macedonia has come under fire by centrist MEPs of the Renew political grouping. The MEPs lamented that…

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Bulgarian government approves plan to offset high energy prices

SOFIA, May 16 (Reuters) - Bulgaria on Monday approved a new stimulus package to shield companies from the surge in energy prices bolstered by the war in Ukraine, Prime Minister Kiril Petkov…

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Bulgaria says will veto EU oil sanctions on Russia if it does not get derogation

Bulgaria will not support European Union's new set of sanctions against Russia if the Balkan country does not get a derogation from the proposed ban on buying Russian oil, Deputy Prime Minister…

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Russian parliament speaker says: cut off the gas to other ‘unfriendly’ countries

April 27 (Reuters) - Russia's top lawmaker on Wednesday said gas giant Gazprom had made the right decision in fully suspending gas supplies to Bulgaria and Poland and said Moscow should do…

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Bulgaria bans Russian-flagged ships from entering its Black Sea ports

Bulgaria has banned Russian-flagged ships from entering its Black Sea ports as part of expanded EU sanctions, the country’s Maritime Administration announced on its website on Sunday. “All vessels registered…

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Bulgaria’s growth prospects dented by war in Ukraine -IMF

SOFIA, April 15 (Reuters) - The war in Ukraine is likely to hit Bulgaria's economic growth, speed up inflation and could pose credit risks, the International Monetary Fund said on Friday. The…

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Bulgaria eases travel rules for NATO troops, neighbouring states

SOFIA (Reuters) - Bulgaria will allow NATO troops, as well as travellers from some neigbouring countries, to arrive in the Balkan country without showing any coronavirus-related documents as of April…

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Bulgaria scraps ‘golden passports’ scheme

SOFIA, March 24 (Reuters) - Bulgaria's parliament scrapped a 'golden passports' scheme on Thursday that allowed wealthy foreigners to buy citizenship in the European Union country if they invested as little as…

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U.S. to provide Stryker army company to NATO battlegroup in Bulgaria

SOFIA (Reuters) -The United States has agreed to provide a Stryker mechanized infantry company for Bulgaria’s battlegroup under NATO’s drive to bolster its eastern flank after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine,…

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Bulgaria’s former PM Borissov detained after EU probes

SOFIA, March 17 (Reuters) - Bulgaria's former prime minister and leader of the largest opposition GERB party, Boyko Borissov, was detained late on Thursday as part of a police operation linked to…

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EU to keep talking with Bulgaria until enlargement spat solved, Borrell says

March 14 (Reuters) - The European Commission will continue talking to Bulgaria to get its approval for accepting North Macedonia into the bloc, the EU's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell…

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Bulgaria to host up to eight Dutch fighter jets and 200 troops

SOFIA, March 11 (Reuters) - NATO member Bulgaria will host up to eight Dutch warplanes and 200 troops to help it with its air policing tasks amid the Russian invasion…

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UPDATED: Estonia, Romania and Bulgaria close airspace for Russian carriers

BUCHAREST, Feb 26 (Reuters) - Romania will ban Russian airlines from its airspace, government spokesman Dan Carbunaru said on Saturday, joining other countries in central Europe against which Russia already retaliated. Carbunaru…

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Spain will send four fighter jets and 130 troops to Bulgaria

SOFIA, Feb 9 (Reuters) - Spain will send four warplanes and 130 troops to Bulgaria this week for air policing tasks amid tensions over the Russian military build-up on the…

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Bulgaria posts new record of 12,399 daily COVID infections

SOFIA, Jan 26 (Reuters) - Bulgaria reported a record 12,399 coronavirus infections in a single day on Wednesday, official data showed, with most of the cases caused by the more…

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Russia wants NATO forces to leave Romania, Bulgaria – Russian foreign ministry

MOSCOW, Jan 21 (Reuters) - The security guarantees that Russia seeks from the West include provisions requiring NATO forces to leave Romania and Bulgaria, the Russian foreign ministry said on…

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Bulgaria posts record of more than 11,000 daily COVID-19 cases

SOFIA, Jan 19 (Reuters) - Bulgaria reported a record 11,181 coronavirus infections in a single day on Wednesday, official data showed, dominated by the more contagious Omicron variant. The European…

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North Macedonia and Bulgaria agree to work on issues blocking EU talks

The new premiers of Bulgaria and North Macedonia agreed on Tuesday to try to overcome problems that prompted Sofia to block the start of accession talks between the European Union…

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