Bulgarian PM Hints At Silent Support for Sanctions on Russia

Veto is not an instrument in the dialogue between leaders of the European Council, Bulgaria's Prime Minister said.

Plamen Oresharski made this comment on Tuesday, shedding some light on his future stance toward the prospect of introducing European-level measures against Russia, the website Dnevnik.bg has reported.

Bulgaria's head of government explained that the Council works by seeking consensus, ensuring that all member states are satisfied with final decisions.

The European Council is a EU institution constituted by heads of state or government of member countries. It is one of the leading bodies of the union which, though deprived of legislative power, has a large share in moulding the bloc's agenda and positions on key issues.

The prospects of a Bulgarian veto on a draft calling for economic sanctions have become subject to a heated debate both in Parliament and in the media, with some claiming the country is too intertwined with Russia and its economy will suffer. Ruling Socialists' MP Yanaki Stoilov earlier said that Bulgarian GDP could shrink by 1 to 5% in case of further measures targeting Moscow.

Bulgaria's PM also made clear that the government will keep up to regulations imposed by EU travel bans that affected Russian officials last week. To a question whether Bulgaria will allow entrance to the Speaker of the Federal Council (upper house of Russia's Parliament), Sergey Narishkin, blacklisted by the EU over Crimea's incorporation into Russia, Oresharski answered, "If he is blacklisted, why are you asking?"

The Prime Minister earlier took part in a meeting with business representatives contracting Russian companies. They expressed concern over potential losses in case of a prolonged...