Sergey Stanishev: At the rotation in March, we can see reformatting and even a triple coalition

I would not be surprised, when the rotation is coming in March, to reformat the assembly into something different, which is a triple coalition. It is obvious that DPS is the third participant in management. We also see Dogan's address to the DPS voters as a preparation and request for official participation in the administration. This was stated by the MEP and former president of the Party of European Socialists (PES) Sergey Stanishev to bTV.

According to him, internal trust is the most important thing for a government.

"That tripartite coalition, when it was criticized a lot, was built on enough trust and respect, both between the leaders of the parties, and between the understanding that each party has its own interest. At the moment, there seems to be mutual hatred. I worry that at the end of the year, BGN 11 billion was spent, without much transparency and clarity," Stanishev also said.

He highlighted the fact that Finance Minister Asen Vassilev has always talked about transparency in expenses, and some of them "are not clear and transparent at all".

"Of these 11 billion, 6 billion are current expenses of the state and the institutions, but 5 billion are not at all clear and transparent. It is heard that about 1.2 billion was spent on advance payments to municipalities for unrealized projects, which is a violation of the law. Obviously, this is part of the transactions between the governing entities, which on paper are two, but in reality three," explained Stanishev.

The MEP also commented on the accession of Bulgaria and Romania to Schengen, and in his words the balance sheet is discouraging.

"I have always been a supporter of insisting and achieving simultaneous entry by land, sea and air into the space of free movement. And for me, this result, which is partial, is a disappointment. Yes, it will ease the travel of Bulgarians by plane, but this does not solve the economic problem - the hundreds of millions of losses suffered by the Bulgarian economy due to the endless queues at the toll booths. Because the goods are imported and exported mostly by land," said Stanishev.

According to him, our country is discriminated against because of the internal problems of one or another country.

"We should have been much more assertive and in better coordination with Romania, in particular with regard to Austria. That is, through their interests, their weak points, to give a clear signal. Austria has both political and economic interests, just like Bulgaria, as well as in Romania. It should have been clearly shown that we will not tolerate this kind of treatment towards us. It is unfair to be treated really as second-hand EU citizens. Which is scandalous for me," Stanishev added.

According to him, the outlook is not very clear because no exact date has been given for the abolition of border controls for land borders. The MEP was adamant that new conditions cannot be imposed on Bulgaria, which are outside the Schengen criteria.

"Mostly there is political uncertainty. Because the political situation in Austria will only worsen in the coming months. And one of the reasons is that the ruling party - that of the chancellor - is trying to compete with extreme nationalists who are Eurosceptic and anti-immigration, on their turf. And that's why he wants to show how tough he is, and we are paying the price for what is unacceptable," explained Sergey Stanishev.

His prediction is that if a pro-European coalition is formed at the elections in Austria, which are at the end of the year, then only in 2025 could there be any resolution for Bulgaria regarding our full accession to Schengen.

"Obviously, Bulgaria's diplomatic efforts have not been effective enough. We just have to get out of the position of a supplicant, a very kind one, and show a little more firmness," Stanishev added.