The Appellate Court- Sofia has ordered that the Mayor of Varna, Blagomir Kotsev, remain in custody permanently. According to Judge Stefan Iliev, there is a reasonable presumption that Kotsev committed the crimes he is charged with. The judge added that there is no risk of Kotsev absconding if a lighter measure is imposed on him. However, there is a risk that he could commit another crime, as he is still a mayor of Varna. The court's decision is final.

Members of the European Parliament from the ''Renew Europe'' group have called on the European Commission to suspend payments to Bulgaria due to the detention of the Varna mayor, who belongs to their party, according to Politico. The President of the Renew Europe Group, Valérie Hayer, sent a letter to the European Commission stating that the Bulgarian government is using the independent anti-corruption commission for political purposes.

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According to Hayer, ''the anti-corruption apparatus functions as a political weapon, systematically collecting compromising material for selective targeting of opponents. A milestone designed to guarantee institutional independence is being weaponized to neutralize democratically elected opposition through politicized enforcement—a direct assault on the democratic values that underpin our European project''.

This comes at a time when the Commission is reviewing Bulgaria’s request for the disbursement of a new EUR 653 million tranche under the Recovery and Resilience Plan.

Published and translated by Kostadin Atanasov

Photo: BTA