site.btaContinue the Change Warns that PM Will Isolate Bulgaria from Its European Partners

Continue the Change warned on Friday that Bulgaria risks political and economic isolation within the European Union if it follows through on a threat to block a new sanctions package against Russia over the inclusion of Russian Patriarch Kirill. The party's parliamentary group leader, Nikolay Denkov, was commenting on Prime Minister Rumen Radev's statement that Bulgaria would seek Kirill's removal from the sanctions list and could veto the package if that did not happen.

According to Denkov, the move would replace Bulgaria's national interest with a foreign one and could undermine the country's standing among its European partners. "Radev has already publicly set Bulgaria on Orban's path, and the price will be paid by all of us," he told reporters in Parliament.

Denkov argued that Kirill's role extends beyond his religious office, describing him as a former Russian intelligence colonel who has openly supported Russia's war in Ukraine. "This person does not merely support the war, he encourages it against brotherly Orthodox Ukraine," he said.

The former Prime Minister warned that distancing Bulgaria from common European and Euro-Atlantic positions could damage investor confidence and affect access to European funding. "By isolating itself from all the others, Bulgaria sends a signal to investors that it is an unreliable country when it comes to European policies," he said.

Denkov also pointed to potential risks for Bulgaria's energy sector, noting that the country's oil industry currently benefits from international sanctions-related exemptions. He argued that Bulgaria's national interest lies in ending the war through the restoration of international law and negotiations, rather than defending a figure closely associated with the Kremlin's policies.