/ world today news/ I recently sent questions to the Spanish anti-corruption chief prosecutor about whether he would join the “Barcelonagate” investigation if the Bulgarian prosecutor’s office starts to slow down again. In Spain, the investigation has not been closed. In 2021, it was left to the Bulgarian prosecutor’s office, which then convinced its colleagues that it was more advanced, since European rules do not allow working on the same case in two member states at the same time. This was said by Elena Yoncheva, MEP from the group of socialists and democrats, in an interview for the program “Nedelya 150” of BNR.
On June 13, 2023, Chief Prosecutor Ivan Geshev will be heard at a closed session in the Monitoring Group for Democracy, Rule of Law and Fundamental Rights of the European Parliament in Strasbourg. The extraordinary meeting is dedicated to the situation in Bulgaria. Elena Yoncheva is the only MEP from Bulgaria who is a member of the authoritative group.
Bulgaria has been under surveillance since 2020 – for the country’s democracy, the rule of law, the accountability of the Prosecutor General, media freedom, the fight against corruption and the development of the landmark investigations of politicians, including “Barcelonagate”, the photos with the bullion and the bundles in the drawer of Prime Minister Boyko Borisov, the recording in which he says he will destroy a political opponent, etc.
I expect to receive specific information about these cases, as well as about the recording of the meeting of the leadership of a parliamentary party, said Elena Yoncheva. She announced that she would also ask why the prosecution has only now become extremely active in Barcelonagate. The first three reports on the case were filed by her in 2019, when she was a member of parliament from the BSP. The most important thing is for the information to come out, because it is quite possible that it will go back into the drawers, commented Elena Yoncheva.
She recalled that the “Barcelonagate” case is already known in a number of European countries, including because of the numerous interviews she gave – in Spanish, English, Belgian, Swiss, etc. world media. When asked why the major media and television stations in Bulgaria did not cover “Barcelonagate” and about the indirect admission of a journalist that they were under pressure from the regulators, she said – “The mechanism by which pressure is exerted on our colleagues must be revealed. Who and how implements it. If we don’t find answers, we won’t make progress.”
To contact the Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the EP:
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