Speaking to reporters in Parliament's lobby on Thursday, Manol Peykov MP of Continue the Change – Democratic Bulgaria (CC-DB) said that his parliamentary group insists that by the end of the day, the Ministry of Culture and Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov provide an explanation for Bulgaria’s failure to host the UNESCO World Heritage Committee session. Peykov described the situation as a "huge fiasco".
On Wednesday, the Culture Ministry announced that the Bureau of the World Heritage Committee had agreed that the 47th Session of the Committee to be held at UNESCO headquarters in Paris from July 6 to 16, 2025, with Bulgaria providing financial support as the designated host.
Peykov asked why Sofia will not host the session despite a signed preliminary memorandum on hosting. He noted that, in February 2025 a letter from the UNESCO Secretariat confirmed that Bulgaria was making proper preparations. "Yet suddenly, in the parliamentary Culture and Media Committee, Culture Minister Marian Bachev had said that 'it probably won’t happen'," Peykov said. "Do we lack competence, enthusiasm, or is it for political reasons? The Ministry must come forward and explain why," he urged. Peykov also claimed that organizing the event had long been running into administrative resistance and reluctance in Bulgaria.
Commenting on the matter, CC-DB MP Elisaveta Belobradova said: "In our view, the unilateral decision to withdraw from hosting the session can only be politically motivated. The question is, what are those reasons?" She added that there had been no indication that financial or organizational issues had prompted the decision.
CC-DB warned that hosting the session would have significantly benefited Bulgaria's cultural and historical heritage sites.
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