The prospects for taking a real step forward when it comes to the European integration of the Republic of North Macedonia was the central topic of a conversation that the country's Prime Minister Zoran Zaev and Bulgarian President Rumen Radev had at the conclusion of the NATO summit in Brussels.

We need experienced, courageous and active prosecutors, said European Chief Prosecutor Laura Kovesi at a press conference in Sofia on Friday. “I came to Sofia to meet the four European delegated prosecutors, we have in the EPPO office here, to see if they needed support in their work. This is a part of my duty to oversee the activities of our decentralised offices in all the participating Member States. One of the first challenges is that the EPPO team is not complete, we are missing six European delegated prosecutors as well as support staff,” Kovesi said.

Campaigning officially opens Friday for the 11 July general elections in Bulgaria. The elections were scheduled by a presidential decree 12 May after a short-lived 45th National Assembly failed to form a government and the President had to dissolve it and form a caretaker government.

Caretaker Foreign Minister Svetlan Stoev discussed on Monday with the ambassadors of EU Member States to Bulgaria priority matters on the Union's agenda, including the post-Covid recovery and the implementation of the Recovery and Resilience Facility, environment and climate issues, migration, and EU enlargement, the Foreign Ministry said in a press release. The meeting was organised by the Portuguese Ambassador to Bulgaria as a concluding event within the Portuguese EU Council Presidency, which ends in late June.

The government has set up a working group to take action in response to the sanctions imposed by the US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), said the Council of Ministers' press office. The working group includes representatives of the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Finance, the State Agency for National Security (SANS) and the National Revenue Agency (NRA). As a matter of urgency, it must establish and maintain a list of individuals who fall and could potentially fall within the scope of the OFAC sanctions.

No one is more interested in the European integration of Bulgaria's neighbours than Bulgaria itself, said President Rumen Radev during a joint press conference with his Portuguese counterpart, Marcelo de Sousa, who is on a two-day official visit to the country.

The work of the brother saints Cyril and Methodius will be honoured today jointly by Bulgaria and North Macedonia. The presidents of the two countries – Rumen Radev and Stevo Pendarovski, respectively – are to be received by Pope Francis as part of their visit to Rome, where they are also set to visit places of significance to the legacy of the inventors of the Slavic alphabet.

The caretaker government of Stefan Yanev took office on Wednesday, right after its composition and structure were officially presented by President Rumen Radev.

President Rumen Radev has issued an order dissolving the 45th National Assembly effective 12 May. The head of state is scheduling snap general elections for 11 July. The news came from his press office.

Early parliamentary elections will likely be scheduled for 11 July. President Rumen Radev will dissolve the 45th National Assembly next week and appoint a caretaker government. This was stated by the head of state after he handed over the third, and last, mandate to form a cabinet to BSP, and they returned it immediately.