by Krassen Nikolov
EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s name has been brought up in the latest Bulgarian political scandal after a five-hour recording – which includes former prime minister Kiril Petkov relaying a Schengen-related discussion with von der Leyen to his fellow party members – was released by Change Continues MP Radostin Vassilev.
In the recording, the voice of Petkov can be heard explaining to his fellow party members his conversation with Leyen on 21 May, discussing Bulgaria’s chances of being accepted to Schengen and the eurozone.
Petkov said that during a meeting with von der Leyen, she told him. “For Schengen, you have a very big chance. For the EU zone, you have to figure out how to get around the rules. In the sense of how to comply”.
The former prime minister can be heard saying that he responded, “Can we have (estimation of) inflation minus the effect (of the war) in Ukraine”. To this, Petkov said she replied, “Listen to me, we will try to help you”.
On Saturday, the EU Commission confirmed that von der Leyen and Petkov had a conversation and “discussed important issues from Bulgaria’s agenda, among them Bulgaria’s entry into the Eurozone and Schengen.”
“There is a clearly structured process for joining the Eurozone that applies to all countries. The Commission’s job is to support the implementation of the criteria. It is obvious that the rules must be respected,” said the Commission, quoted by Bulgarian National Radio.
The tape also laid bare the party’s strategy, which was set to be implemented after the election of a government with former prime minister Boyko Borisov. The leaders of Change Continues to mention purging the state administration of personnel close to President Rumen Radev, the GERB party, and employees suspected of working for Russian intelligence.
Other controversial quotes from the tapes include Petkov saying that former Bulgarian EU commissioner Mariya Gabriel broke down in tears when she learned she would not be prime minister.
Before the release of the recordings, the “Change Continues – Democratic Bulgaria” coalition had reached an unprecedented agreement with GERB to elect a government. During the first nine months, the prime minister was to be Nikolay Denkov (Change Continues), followed by Gabriel.
After releasing the tapes, GERB announced that it was freezing negotiations with Change Continues until assurances were received that the future government would respect the principles of the rule of law. Borisov is trying to take advantage of the weak position of Change Continues and insists on an expert government with a short mandate.
*first published in: Euractiv.com
By: N. Peter Kramer
