Parliament Speaker Kiselova: Bulgaria Hopes to Conclude Post-Monitoring Dialogue with PACE in 2025

Bulgaria hopes that in 2025 a decision will be taken to conclude the post-monitoring dialogue with the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE).

This was stated by the Speaker of the National Assembly, Natalia Kiselova, during a meeting with the President of PACE, Theodoros Rousopoulos on June 13. The PACE President is on a working visit to Bulgaria and held meetings with members of the Bulgarian parliamentary delegation to the organisation.

"I am pleased to welcome you to the National Assembly," said Natalia Kiselova, addressing Mr. Rousopoulos.

"I believe that during your visit to Sofia, you will receive sufficient arguments in support of concluding the post-monitoring dialogue with Bulgaria," she noted.

Natalia Kiselova recalled that back in March 2024, the PACE Monitoring Committee recommended the closure of the post-monitoring procedure, and Bulgaria hopes that this recommendation will be accepted by the Assembly's members in 2025.

"The ruling majority is making active efforts to implement PACE's recommendations and continues to take measures in the fight against corruption, ensuring freedom of expression, protecting journalists, combating violence against women, and tackling hate speech," the Speaker of the Parliament stressed.

She expressed confidence that the conclusion of the post-monitoring dialogue would serve as an incentive for Bulgaria to achieve even more significant progress on the remaining open issues, such as implementation of judgments of the European Court of Human Rights, cooperation with GRECO,
and the situation of persons belonging to minority groups.

This progress, she added, can also be reflected in the regular periodic reports compiled for all Council of Europe member states.

"We look forward to the upcoming visit of the PACE co-rapporteurs to Bulgaria, and we hope to go through all procedural stages swiftly, so that the post-monitoring procedure for Bulgaria can be concluded in 2025," Kiselova stated.

She added that representatives of the Bulgarian Parliament, the executive branch, and experts in various state institutions have been working for years on the recommendations, and that Bulgaria has made significant progress on all topics covered in the dialogue with the Council of Europe.

PACE President Theodoros Rousopoulos acknowledged that Bulgaria has made substantial efforts toward ending the post-monitoring procedure:

"If the country continues working as actively on the implementation of the recommendations, I believe you will achieve the result that all Bulgarian citizens desire," he stated.

Mr. Rousopoulos also reminded that in July 2025, PACE co-rapporteurs for Bulgaria will visit the country to assess the progress. Their report will be a key step toward initiating discussions on concluding the post-monitoring dialogue.

During the meeting with Denitsa Sacheva, head of the Bulgarian delegation to PACE, and other members of the delegation, Bulgarian MPs highlighted the country's dedicated efforts and emphasised the need for the post-monitoring dialogue to be brought to a close.