site.btaMEP Elena Yoncheva Says MRF "Has Will for Changes", She "Thinks in Same Direction" with MRF MEPs

Socialist MEP Elena Yoncheva says of the party that has just nominated her for another term in the European Parliament, the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) that they "have a will for change" and that she has "worked well" with the MRF MEPs and "thinks in the same direction" with them. "Obviously, if we are to succeed in carrying through some kind of changes in Bulgaria, we need laws. If we can't secure them in Bulgaria, they need to come from Europe," she told BTA in Strasbourg, adding that she believes MRF has the will for such changes.

Elena Yoncheva has made no secret of her differences with Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) leader Korneliya Ninova and was not expected to be nominated for another term in the EP by BSP, which has catapulted her into a career in the EU legislative body. On this backdrop, the MRF said in a surprise announcement earlier this week that they had nominated Yoncheva as a non-party candidate in the European elections. 

"In the recent years, I fought hard against the government model in Bulgaria which allowed no media freedom and rule of law. I fought a difficult battle with GERB and the changes that I initiated here [in the European Parliament] are the result of this battle," she said. According to Delyan Peevski, one of the two MRF leaders, he personally offered the nomination to Yoncheva.

She told BTA that she has worked with MRF MEPs a lot. "With Ilhan Kyuchuk we worked on Schengen and the Migration Pact. I know what they positions are and we have worked together on all issues concerning Bulgaria. When we are here, we all work for BUlgaria, we rally behind Bulgarian causes and bills that bring a benefit to Bulgaria," Yoncheva said.

She said that when she was offered the nomination, her reply was that she has repeatedly said in public that she would accept any change that would allow her to continue doing at the EP what she does now.

"One journalistic investigation or just making another row in Bulgaria does not change the situation. What we need are Europe-wide laws that are efficient and whose enforcement in Bulgaria is monitored," said Yoncheva, who is a former renowned journalist.

Reacting to criticism that by accepting the MRF nomination she joins the company of a person sanctioned under the US Global Magnitsky Act, Delyan Peevski, Yoncheva said that there is a politician [Rumen Ovcharov] in the BSP leadership who is also sanctioned by the same law but it "never stopped me from being a repporter on the anti-corruption law or work on the media act".

Peevski was designated by the US under the Global Magnitsky Act in 2021 as an oligarch who "has regularly been engaged in corruption, using influence peddling and bribes to protect himself from public scrutiny and exert control over key institutions and sectors in Bulgarian society." He has denied any wrongdoing and is challenging the designation in a US court.

Yoncheva further argued that the Magnitsky Act does not have a legal consequences in the EU or Bulgaria.  She said that she never made compromises in politics and journalism, and accepts the nomination "as long as she has the freedom to stand up for the issues that are important for Bulgaria".

Of the European Media Freedom Act, she said that there will be a mechanism that will allow any journalist who feels censored or pressured in any way by his editor or owner to turn to a Media Board, which is yet to be established over the next couple of years.

In mid-March this year, MEPs gave the green light for new legislation to protect journalists and media in the EU from political or economic interference. Under this legislation, member states will be obliged to protect media independence and all forms of interference in editorial decisions will be banned.

There, decisions are taken by majority vote, the Media Board has advisory functions, it cannot impose anything on a country. If a journalist feels censored, he can seek his rights in the relevant European institutions, Yoncheva said. The media board should be set up in the next two years because structures and organization need to be created, she added.

"The only way to fight disinformation and propaganda is not by censoring different platforms, but by investing in quality journalism so that people know that the media has verified information," Yoncheva said. She does not believe in strict regulations when it comes to  the news media. "Everyone will find a way to reach their audience," the MEP added. "The more technology advances, the more we will need quality journalism. Journalism is a sign of quality. It needs to meet certain standards, and nowadays everything is blurred - between journalism and a person just expressing an opinion," she said.

She argued that the way to fight fake news is to invest in journalism.