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Polish Foreign Minister says Trump ‘is right’ to demand Europe pay more for their own defense
When asked by MSNBC host Andrea Mitchell about former President Trump’s rhetoric toward NATO, Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs Radosław Sikorski argued he was correct on one key point.
- Bulgarian President Rumen Radev assigned the task of forming a new government to the GERB-UDF coalition, the largest group in parliament.
- Maria Gabriel, designated as prime minister under a power-sharing agreement, received the mandate from Radev.
- The agreement states that each main political party would hold the top position for nine months at a time.
Bulgarian President Rumen Radev on Monday tapped the largest group in parliament, the center-right GERB-UDF coalition, to form the country’s new government.
Radev handed the mandate to Maria Gabriel, the prime minister-designate under a power-sharing deal by the two main political parties, according to which each would hold the top job for nine months at a time.
Earlier this month, Nikolay Denkov of the reformist coalition led by “We Continue the Change,” stepped down after his nine months as prime minister, paving the way for Gabriel, a former European Commissioner who served as deputy head of Denkov’s government and foreign minister.
BULGARIAN LAWMAKERS APPROVE PRIME MINISTER’S RESIGNATION AS PART OF POWER-SHARING AGREEMENT
The two parties agreed to share power after elections last year in a bid to end a two-and-a-half-year-long political crisis, restore stability and spur economic development in the poorest member country of the European Union.
Bulgaria’s European Innovation Commissioner Mariya Gabriel speaks during a media conference at EU headquarters in Brussels. (Olivier Hoslet, Pool Photo via AP, File)
Accepting the mandate, Gabriel said that she does it “with a sense of responsibility as Bulgaria needs stability.” It was also announced that she would keep the foreign minister portfolio in the new government, which analysts see as a guarantee that Bulgaria will remain on its pro-Western track.
Gabriel has seven days to nominate a cabinet, which needs to be approved by a majority in parliament.
BULGARIA APPROVES MORE MILITARY AID FOR UKRAINE
Following last year’s election, GERB has 69 seats in the 240-seat parliament, while the reformist bloc has 63.
Gabriel, 43, a member of the European Parliament since 2009, was EU commissioner for innovation, research, culture, education and youth. She is also the first vice chair of the European People’s Party.