Speaking to reporters in the corridors of Parliament on Thursday, Continue the Change – Democratic Bulgaria (CC-DB) MP Manol Peykov said that the CC-DB 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 for 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 the session would not take place in Sofia despite a signed preliminary memorandum for hosting. He noted that, in February 2025, a UNESCO Secretariat letter confirmed that Bulgaria was making good preparations. Yet suddenly, in the parliamentary Committee on Culture and Media, 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 there had long been administrative resistance in Bulgaria and a lack of willingness to organize the event.
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 were behind the decision.
CC-DB warned that hosting the session would have significantly benefited Bulgaria's cultural and historical heritage sites.
/KK/
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