The Bulgarian press on Friday provides front-page coverage of the course of talks for the conclusion of a coalition agreement between election winner Gerb party and the United Patriots (UP).
Both Dnevnik and Sega accentuate the assertion of Gerb’s negotiation team that the first blueprint of the agreement will be adopted today and that a final copy of the document is expected next week. According to Gerb MP Delian Dobrev there are no differences between the future coalition partners on issues they have been discussing.
According to unofficial sources quoted by Dnevnik, no changes should be expected in the structure of the Council of Ministers. Sega contends that the discussed document will contain a mechanism preventing the participants in the coalition from quitting it on their own will – something that happened at the end of 2016 when Boyko Borissov stepped down as prime minister.
Both Sega and Dnevnik point out that the distribution of posts of cabinet ministers in the future government will be discussed once the coalition agreement has been signed. 24 Hours however has learned from unnamed participants in the talks that the Borissov 3 cabinet will appoint two or four deputy prime ministers, two of whom will be from Gerb. Tomislav Donchev who was deputy PM in the Borissov 2 cabinet was Gerb’s firm nomination. As to the second deputy PM, one possible option was Lilyana Pavlova from Gerb. Potential deputy PMs from UP included the co-chairmen of UP Krasimir Karakachanov and Valeri Simeonov. The ministries of energy, of culture and of labor and social policy will most probably be led by cabinet ministers singled out by UP. The Patriots demanded the inclusion of a special ministry for Bulgarians abroad but it was almost certain that this portfolio would remain at the level of a state agency.
The coalition agreement was supposed to include a point that Gerb would not be able to suspend the mandate of the government without the consent of the United Patriots, the sources of 24 Hours have said.
Compiled by Stoimen Pavlov
English Daniela Konstantinova
On Wednesday, minimum temperatures in the country will be between 9 and 14°C, 12°C in Sofia. During the day, sunny skies are expected, with some clouds developing in the west, until rain starts to fall before the end of the day. Highs will range from..
The MPs obligated the supervisory board of the National Social Security Institute to support the revaluation of pensions by 11% as of 1 July this year. Such a decision had already been approved by the supervisory board but one of the..
Ventsislav Velev who is in the 11 th grade in the Baba Tonka high school of mathematics in Russe won the silver medal at the International Philosophy Olympiad in Helsinki , with only two students – the gold medalists from Germany and China – ahead..
There will be no significant rise in the price of electricity for household users, said caretaker Energy Minister Vladimir Malinov. Kozloduy..
The European Commissioner for Agriculture Janusz Wojciechowski will be on a working visit to Bulgaria on May 21. His program includes meetings in..
The caretaker cabinet has provided almost 80 million Leva (EUR 40 million) in additional funding for salaries for public universities , the government..
sunshine, cloud, rain and thunder
Partly Cloudy
Thunderstorms 
Partly cloudy, chance of rain