SOFIA: Bulgaria’s government on Thursday survived a second no-confidence motion in parliament in as many weeks.
The motion tabled by the Mech party and backed by two other nationalist and pro-Russia groups accused the government of failing to effectively combat rampant graft and bribery. It was defeated in a 130-72 vote in the 240-seat parliament. The government’s coalition Cabinet is led by the center-right GERB party.
The government condemned the motion as an attempt to derail Bulgaria’s plan to adopt the euro at the beginning of 2026, which would consolidate its European integration.
Contrary to its declared priority to stand up against corruption, the pro-Western opposition PP-DB did not support the motion, citing an upcoming European Commission report on Bulgaria’s bid to join the eurozone as a reason to avoid destabilizing the government.
“Any vote of no confidence before Bulgaria’s entry into the eurozone is not a vote to topple the government, but a vote to stop its pro-European course,” said PP-DB legislator Venko Sabrutev.
Rampant corruption has marred everyday life in Bulgaria for years, with dishonest public procurement, unregulated lobbying, vote buying and property fraud. Tackling graft has been complicated by the state of the judiciary, which is widely criticized for being beholden to the interests of politicians.
Bulgarian government survives a no-confidence vote over corruption
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Bulgarian government survives a no-confidence vote over corruption
- The government condemned the motion as an attempt to derail Bulgaria’s plan to adopt the euro at the beginning of 2026
- Rampant corruption has marred everyday life in Bulgaria for years
German railway Deutsche Bahn hit by cyberattack
- The distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack caused problems with the railway’s website
- “Our defensive measures were effective in minimizing the impact on our customers,” DB said
BERLIN: A cyberattack against Germany’s state-owned railway Deutsche Bahn briefly disrupted ticketing systems and timetable information services this week, the company disclosed Wednesday.
The distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack caused problems with the railway’s website and its widely used DB Navigator app on Tuesday afternoon.
The website and app issues were mostly resolved by Tuesday evening, but resurfaced again on Wednesday morning.
Deutsche Bahn is Germany’s dominant rail service, operating both passenger and cargo trains as well as suburban commuter railways in many cities.
“Our defensive measures were effective in minimizing the impact on our customers,” Deutsche Bahn said.
The company has been in contact with Germany’s BSI cybersecurity authorities, an interior ministry spokeswoman said Wednesday, adding that she could provide few additional details about the attack.
