European Elections 2014

Meglena Kuneva Heads Reformist Bloc's EU Elections List

Politics » EUROPEAN ELECTIONS | March 22, 2014, Saturday // 12:57
Bulgaria: Meglena Kuneva Heads Reformist Bloc's EU Elections List Meglena Kuneva, Photo by BGNES

Meglena Kuneva, former Bulgarian Minister and MEP, will top the Reformist Bloc's list at the European Elections.

Kuneva heads the Bulgaria for Citizens Movement, which is part of the Reformists's coalition. She was Minister of European Affairs in two consecutive governments, one of the NDSV (National Movement for Stability and Progress) from 2002 to 2005 and the other of now-ruling Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP), which she left due to her EU Commissioner bid after she was nominated by BSP leader Sergei Stanishev in end-October 2006.

On January 1, 2007 she began her term as Bulgaria's first EU Commissioner, in charge of consumer protection.

She also ran for president in 2011 and had the third-largest result after current head of state Rosen Plevneliev and MEP Ivaylo Kalfin.

In the Reformist Bloc's list, Kuneva is followed by Democrats for Strong Bulgaria (DSP)’s Svetoslav Malinov and Bozhidar Lukarski, who leads the Union of Democratic Forces (known as SDS), Bulgarian television bTV has reported.

Next is Korman Ismailov, who is a member of Kasim Dal’s Freedom and Dignity People's Party.

Since splintering off from the ethnic Turkish Movement of Rights and Freedoms (DPS) party, Dal has sparked controversy as allegedly enjoying the support of Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who expressed his preference for Dal to DPS before 2013's elections (and even sponsored his campaign), according to reports by Today's Zaman newspaper.

Bulgarian Agrarian People's Union (BZNS) has proposed Dimitar Bechev, Sofia University lecturer and chief of Bulgaria’s bureau of the European Council on Foreign Relations.

The Reformist Bloc, a coalition of right parties, agreed in December that its members will run together in a full cycle of elections, including May 25 European Elections, as well as the next parliamentary and municipal elections.

The Bloc came together as a result of massive protests over the summer against Bulgaria's then new cabinet, led by PM Plamen Oresharski.

A range of polls predict that the Reformists will make it into the European Parliament with 5 to 6% of the ballots, which means they could obtain one MEP seat in May.

Leaders of the coalition have nonetheless vowed to win up to three MEP seats.

We need your support so Novinite.com can keep delivering news and information about Bulgaria! Thank you!

European Elections » Be a reporter: Write and send your article
Tags: Dimitar Bechev, Korman Ismailov, Svetoslav Malinov, bozhidar lukarski, Reformist Bloc, Meglena Kuneva

Advertisement
Advertisement
Bulgaria news Novinite.com (Sofia News Agency - www.sofianewsagency.com) is unique with being a real time news provider in English that informs its readers about the latest Bulgarian news. The editorial staff also publishes a daily online newspaper "Sofia Morning News." Novinite.com (Sofia News Agency - www.sofianewsagency.com) and Sofia Morning News publish the latest economic, political and cultural news that take place in Bulgaria. Foreign media analysis on Bulgaria and World News in Brief are also part of the web site and the online newspaper. News Bulgaria