The Gabriel riddle

By Georgi Gotev

Another EU summit starts today, and as usual, I will spend two days in a newsroom with colleagues from most EU countries, many of whom will ask me what is happening in Bulgaria.

The country I know best is in a deep political crisis, with a fifth consecutive snap election since July 2021 on the horizon.

While the summit is mostly dedicated to Ukraine, Bulgaria is a frontline country. Its Black Sea coast is of great strategic importance, and its political parties are divided along the geopolitical line regarding whether to help Ukraine.

So, the question is relevant but difficult to answer.

Six months ago, after a snap election and tough government-forming talks, an unlikely coalition emerged, composed of ‘We Continue the Change – Democratic Bulgaria’ (PP-DB) and Boyko Borissov’s conservative GERB party.

GERB won the most seats but could not govern on its own or find junior partners, and the cabinet was eventually agreed under the mandate of PP-DB.

There was a condition: After six months, Prime Minister Nikolay Denkov, representing PP-DB, will be replaced by former European commissioner Mariya Gabriel, representing GERB.

EU leaders are looking at a serious debate on Thursday about how to fund the ramp-up of the bloc’s defence industry to answer Ukraine’s needs and match the Europeans’ ambition to become an independent security player.

Greenpeace activists disrupted the one-day Nuclear Energy Summit in Brussels on Thursday, attended by some 40 delegations from across the world to explore the possibilities of collaborations in nuclear power.

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled on Thursday that a 2019 EU regulation obliging EU citizens to give their fingerprints for national identification cards was founded on the wrong legal basis, declaring the EU law entirely invalid.

The European Commission’s plan to withdraw the bloc from the Energy Charter Treaty while allowing member states the right to remain if they choose was presented to Parliament on Thursday.

Real wages in the EU declined for the second successive year in 2023 as nominal salary increases failed to keep up with persistent inflation, according to a study published on Thursday (21 March) by Europe’s largest trade union organisation.

European power industry association Eurelectric seeks longer-term planning and a reform of grid tariff rules to finance an anticipated €584 billion investment into the continent’s electricity grids by 2030.

The role of the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications needs to change, given the expanding regulatory scope of its members in broader ecosystems, Kamila Kloc, the European Commission’s director in charge of the digital decade and connectivity, told Euractiv in an interview.

The EU fisheries sector must regain its competitiveness and protect itself from unfair competition from third countries, a report presented at the European Parliament on Wednesday recommended.

In recent days, Germany has increased pressure to add to the EU summit conclusions a “positive” message for the future of EU-Turkey relations, something that Cyprus has not taken well, Euractiv has learnt.

EU leaders are set to give the political green light to open accession talks with Bosnia and Herzegovina on Thursday, but the outcome still hangs in the balance as several member states aim to tie the decision to progress on Ukraine and Moldova.

Last but not least, don’t miss this week’s EU Elections Decoded: EU parties competing with national politics as campaign kicks off

• Europan Council summit on Thursday-Friday.
• Euro summit on Friday.
• Climate Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra participates in Copenhagen Climate Ministerial on Friday.

Views are the author’s

[Edited by Zoran Radosavljevic/Alice Taylor]