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Bulgaria has a pro-European government after a long impasse. In the agency's article it is pointed out that the new pro-European government is the result of a painful compromise between the two main political forces, reached after more than two years of instability and five parliamentary votes.

The new cabinet, mainly composed of experts and headed by scientist Nikolay Denkov, received the approval of parliament without difficulty. Denkov, a former education minister who was named prime minister by the reformist coalition Continuing Change/Democratic Bulgaria, will govern for nine months. He will be assisted by former European Commissioner Mariya Gabriel, nominated by the conservative party GERB. She now holds the post of foreign minister and will take over as prime minister in March 2024.

The two political forces, which achieved an almost equal result in the April 2 elections, announced their agreement to end the political impasse on May 22, noting that this was an unprecedented political impasse since the end of communism in 1989.

Parliament elected the cabinet "Denkov-Gabriel", Radev and "Vazrazhdane" left the hall

Agence France-Presse also discusses the moment when negotiations almost failed because of recordings revealing stubborn feuds between the two camps. But former prime ministers and political rivals Boyko Borissov and Kiril Petkov decided to put aside differences in the face of the catastrophic situation in the EU and NATO member state. What they have in common is their pro-European position in the war in Ukraine, France Press points out and notes that Bulgaria is a divided nation, historically close to Moscow.

The policy of the new government should therefore be distinguished from that of the interim governments refusing to send direct military aid to Kiev under the leadership of President Russophile Rumen Radev. Radev criticized this coalition in parliament and urged it not to betray national interests.

After the first priorities of the new government is the adoption of the budget, which was delayed by political strife. Here Agence France-Presse recalls that Assen Vassilev, who studied at Harvard, is in the post of Minister of Finance and EU Funds.

The new government also wants to carry out judicial reform, better fight corruption and aims to join the eurozone and the Schengen area as soon as possible.

The new government, headed by Prime Minister Nikolay Denkov and elected by the Bulgarian parliament on Monday, aims to implement reforms that would take the Balkan country to the eurozone and Schengen.

The election of the government ends two years of political paralysis. Political uncertainty has forced the EU member state to postpone its goal of adopting the euro. Bulgaria must also approve its 2023 budget.

Reuters also quoted Denkov as saying in plenary that millions of Bulgarians who wanted a regular government were given hope today and that his government had the courage and experience to make important decisions and to be responsible for them.

The agency also recalls the agreed rotation principle, in which Denkov will be at the head of the government for nine months, after which Mariya Gabriel will be at the helm of the government.

Reuters also recalls how the forces were distributed in parliament after the elections on April 2, when GERB received 69 seats and the second was the PP/DB coalition with 64 seats.

The two main rival political forces have proposed the government, which was approved in parliament on Monday, with the aim of ending a 30-month political crisis, restoring stability and boosting economic development in the EU's poorest member state. The agency also points out that this will be the first government in Bulgaria in which there will be a rotation of the prime minister. The Associated Press adds that Denkov, who is prime minister, is the founder of the reformist party "Continuing Change" and Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister is Mariya Gabriel, a former EU commissioner. In nine months, the two will exchange positions for the rest of the term.

Although there are fundamental disagreements between the two parties in this unusual coalition, they have managed to reach an agreement on the main elements of the governance agenda. They will try to secure together a constitutional majority of two-thirds of lawmakers to push through a sweeping reform of the judiciary and implement long-awaited anti-corruption reforms.

The government's priorities include the urgent adoption of the delayed 2023 budget, and the government also hopes the country will join the Schengen zone and the eurozone and secure the allocation of billions of euros from European recovery funds by adopting the necessary legislation.

Obscene gestures, Frankenstein, ChatGPT and nagging marked the debate around the election of the Denkov-Gabriel cabinet

The new government has vowed to keep Bulgaria on a hardline pro-Western course, fight Russian influence in Bulgaria's security sector and ensure support for Ukraine's defense against Russia.

DPA points out that in the vote today the composition of the new government voted against MPs from pro-Russian and nationalist parties. The new government will replace the current interim government, appointed by President Rumen Radev, who is considered favorable to Russia.

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