the european people's party (epp)

Greek MEP and former New Democracy leader Vangelis Meimarakis has been appointed as his party's representative on the European People's Party (EPP) Task Force.

The Task Force, which includes senior EPP officials and members of the Wilfried Martens Center for European Studies, will draft the EPP's manifesto.

Former Bulgarian Minister of Defense and current head of the "Center for Security and Defense Management" at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Prof. Todor Tagarev, has stated in front of BNR that the likelihood of Russian President Vladimir Putin resorting to nuclear weapons is minimal.

Bulgaria's Mariya Gabriel has been appointed president of the Robert Schuman Institute, the European People's Party (EPP) announced.

Until recently, her name had been linked to a potential role as NATO Deputy Secretary General. However, that position was instead filled by Radmila Sekerinska, former Deputy Prime Minister of North Macedonia.

A European prosecutor's office is investigating allegations of fraud and corruption linked to Manfred Weber's 2019 European Parliament election campaign, including the potential misuse of EU funds, as reported by Politico. Weber, a significant figure in Brussels politics and the leader of the European People's Party (EPP), is not currently named as a suspect in the inquiry.

Athens' interest in boosting the Western Balkans' European integration prospects and particularly those of Serbia - the largest and most influential country in the region - was underscored by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis' visit to Belgrade on Wednesday evening, during which he and his Polish counterpart, Donald Tusk, attended a dinner hosted by Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic.

Polish MEP Tomas Zdechovsky, representing the European People's Party, has indicated that the vote for Ekaterina Zaharieva as Bulgaria's next European Commissioner is uncertain, BNR reports. He noted that many of his colleagues from the socialist and liberal groups have yet to decide whether they will support her nomination.

A scandal from six years ago, involving the alleged sale of Bulgarian passports, could jeopardize Ekaterina Zaharieva's candidacy for European Commissioner, Politico reports.

A letter has been sent to the President of the European Parliament calling for the dismissal of SYRIZA MEP Nikos Pappas from the European People's Party (EPP) group for his "continuous vulgar, racist, sexist and abusive" behavior.

Michael O'Flaherty, the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, has urged Bulgarian President Rumen Radev not to approve the newly passed law banning the discussion of LGBTQ+ topics in schools. O'Flaherty made this appeal via a post on the "X" platform on Monday.

Almost 70 Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) have called for Hungary's exclusion from the Schengen Area, which allows for free travel across internal EU borders. The request, addressed to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, includes signatures from Bulgarian MEP Andrey Kovachev of GERB among others.