The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) has decided to end its monitoring of Bulgaria, with 101 votes in favour, 3 against, and 1 abstention.

Speaking from the parliamentary rostrum, Stanislav Balabanov of the “There Is Such a People” (ITN) party drew attention to the removal of the phrase “ethnic Macedonians in Bulgaria” from the report. He questioned why Nadezhda Yordanova, co-chair of the “We Continue the Change – Democratic Bulgaria” (PP-DB) parliamentary group and a member of Bulgaria’s PACE delegation, had abstained instead of supporting the decision, noting that three MPs from North Macedonia had voted against it.

In response, Atanas Slavov of PP-DB argued that problems remain, pointing out that the report also contains recommendations on the rule of law and political influence over the judicial system.

Bulgaria is represented in PACE by six delegates, including Ms. Yordanova.