Bulgarian Prime Minister Nikolai Denkov handed his resignation letter to parliament, a move confirmed by the Bulgarian television network BTV. The channel reported that the prime minister would address lawmakers with an official statement at 19:00 local time, which is 20:00 in Moscow time.
Earlier, in February 2024, Denkov announced that he would step down on March 6 as part of a prearranged rotation plan. He spoke about this during a briefing after returning from the Munich Security Conference, clarifying the timeline and why the transition schedule had been set in advance.
Speaking about the future leadership of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs under the next government, Denkov noted that the decision remained open. Any solution would need to accommodate the interests of multiple political formations that are part of the governing coalition, including the Continue Change bloc, Democratic Bulgaria, Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria, and the Union coalition. The aim, he said, was to reach a configuration that could secure broad support across these groups and ensure a stable foreign policy direction.
In December, Denkov’s administration reached an agreement with Austria regarding Bulgaria’s entry into the Schengen area. The framework stated that, in the initial phase, the agreement would apply to air and sea borders as a first step toward full border criteria alignment.
Meanwhile, leaders in Brussels and across Europe have been watching progress on Schengen-related approvals for Bulgaria and its neighbors. The European Union has previously given the bloc a partial Schengen status in relation to Romania and Bulgaria, a move seen as a stepping stone toward broader border-free travel in the region. This development is part of ongoing discussions about regional integration and security cooperation in Europe. — attribution: BTV