These European Parliament elections are of crucial importance to the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) because they pave the way for the party’s successful showing at the next local and general elections in Bulgaria. This was the message sent by the MRF’s honorary chairman Ahmed Dogan in an address to the party’s members and supporters on the eve of the EP vote, the MRF announced. Dogan draws attention to the fact that the MRF has always bet on youth and the future and that is why he asks those who may feel slighted for forgiveness.  

Bulgaria will get the world’s most modern combat plane at the best possible price, assured US ambassador to Sofia H.E. Eric Rubin in relation to the potential purchase of F-16 aircrafts that Bulgaria is currently negotiating with the US on behalf of its Air Force. Ambassador Rubin took part in The Policies of Bulgaria in the Euro-Atlantic Reality Conference, which was held on 7 May in Sofia.

"We support Bulgaria for Schengen," Bavarian Minister President Markus Soeder told a news conference after a one-to-one session with Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov at the Council of Ministers here on Thursday. In his opinion, Bulgaria guards Europe's external borders remarkably and has achieved a lot for the European Union. Soeder is visiting Bulgaria at Borissov's invitation. They discussed bilateral cooperation in home affairs, security, economy and finance, as well as other issues on the European agenda.

The Central Electoral Committee (CEC) came out with a decision that the candidature of the MP and publisher of Telegraph Media meets all the eligibility requirements. The checkup was provoked by an alarm signal sent by Boets NGO associated with the fugitive banker Tsvetan Vassilev who is hiding from justice in Serbia. It is namely Boets that sent a warning against Peevski to CEC.

An average number of 19 candidates will vie for each of the 17 Bulgarian seats in the new European Parliament. A total of 318 candidates are registered to participate in the EP elections to be held on 26 May, the Central Election Commission (CEC) announced. The deadline for parties and coalitions to register their lists of MEP nominees and for political action committees to file their lists of signatures in support of independent candidates’ nominations was 23 April.

Chairman of Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) Mustafa Karadayi is the party's top-of-the-list candidate for the May 26 European Parliament elections. This transpired at the registration of the MRF's candidate list at the Central Election Commission on Monday.

“The United States’ Federal Bureau of Investigation does not conduct on-the-ground investigations in foreign countries, except in cases of terrorist attacks involving Americans. FBI agents do liaise – or consult with – foreign law enforcement agencies on criminal matters of mutual interest. But in noncriminal lawsuits like the ones discussed recently in the Bulgarian media, the FBI would not be involved,” said Managing Director of BGR Government Affairs Tom Locke, who is a former executive with the FBI.

The GERB Party presented its platform for the May 26 European Parliament elections at a meeting at Sofia's National Palace of Culture on Sunday. The party's MEP candidates highlighted the sectoral policies in the platform.

Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov and China's Premier Li Keqiang discussed ways to further step up business contacts as they met in Dubrovnik Thursday. "Relations between Bulgaria and China are quite dynamic and friendly, especially after the 16+1 summit in Sofia last year," Borissov said as quoted by his press office after a one-on-one meeting with Premier Li.

At its plenary sitting on Wednesday, theBulgarian Parliament suspended the mandate of Delyan Dobrev from GERB as a Parliament Member (MP).