Rosen Plevneliev

Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov slightly lifted the veil on his party's candidate for the forthcoming presidential elections which are scheduled to take place in the autumn.

However rather than naming any of the possible candidates, Borisov pointed to those who will not run in the elections.

Two members of the Council for Electronic Media (CEM), the broadcast media watchdog of Bulgaria, have been elected by Parliament, local media report.

No debates have been held prior to the election.

The two members, Sofiya Vladimirova and Rozita Mihaylova-Elenova, were proposed by the biggest party GERB and the Bulgarian Democratic Center (BDC) respectively.

Bulgaria's last event as head of the Southeastern European Cooperation Process has been scheduled for June 01, the Presidency has said.

The host, President Rosen Plevneliev, will prepared an Anniversary declaration that will mark 20 years since the forum was established as an in instrument of regional dialogue.

Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev has not made any official steps on behalf of Bulgaria set up a joint army brigade with Ukraine and Romania, his press office has indicated, according to the Bulgarian News Agency (BTA).

Last week Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko announced the three countries were studying the possibility of taking the step.

Bulgarians living in London and Brussels held on Saturday protests against the recent amendments to the Electoral Code which had been approved by parliament at second reading earlier during the week.

The protesters were particularly enraged by the amendment which stipulates that voting abroad can only take place in Bulgarian diplomatic missions.

Incumbent Bulgarian Vice President Margarita Popova is considering the option of running for president in the forthcoming elections which are scheduled to take place in the autumn.

Slavi Trifonov, a popular TV host, has called on President Rosen Plevneliev to veto the amendments to the country's Electoral Code.

Changes voted earlier this week made it possible to hold a referendum separately from an election scheduled for the same year. Prior to that, any referendum had to be held simultaneously with a vote if these were to take place in the same year.

Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Pavlo Rozenko has said the idea to set up a joint army brigade with Bulgarian and Romanian forces sa "very timely and right."

In an interview with the Bulgarian National Radio, he has called Bulgaria "a reliable partner".

The election of a new UN Secretary General is "the toughest battle" Bulgaria is facing, President Rosen Plevneliev has said.

His words follow a New York meeting with UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova, who was nominated by the Bulgarian government as the country's official candidate to take over from Ban Ki-moon as head of the global organization next year.

The Bulgarian Association of Marketing and Opinion Researchers (BAMOR) has lashed out at a recent draft amendment which would make it illegal to announce results of opinion polls while an election campaign is unfolding.