site.btaEuropean Parliament to Vote on Commissioner Ivanova's Bid for European Court of Auditors

The main topic of the European Parliament's (EP) plenary session, to be held in Strasbourg between Monday and Thursday, will be the election of the new European Commission, whose mandate is scheduled to last until 2029. The highlight for Bulgaria will be the upcoming vote on the nomination of Bulgaria's current Commissioner Iliana Ivanova for the European Court of Auditors (ECA).

Bulgaria's position in the ECA was left vacant after the appointment of Ivanova as Commissioner in September 2023. She has now been nominated by the Bulgarian government to represent this country in the ECA between 2025 and 2030.

Another topic of importance for Bulgaria, the country's potential full Schengen membership, will be on the EP's agenda on Tuesday. The Parliament is expected to call on the EU Member States to approve the Bulgaria and Romania's full membership to the Schengen area immediately. Checks at the Schengen air and sea borders, to which travellers from Bulgaria and Romania were subject, were abolished in March 2024, however, checks at land borders remained in place.

The leading economic topic at the plenary session of the EP is the 2025 EU budget. MEPs are scheduled to debate its parameters on Tuesday and vote on the draft budget on Wednesday. 

The 2025 Budget is focused on policies related to health, humanitarian aid, combating climate change and managing the European Union's borders. The financial framework also focuses on the management of the expenditure foreseen for the implementation of the EU Recovery Plan. 

The EP reported that it has negotiated a funding increase of EUR 230.7 million compared to the initial draft budget presented by the European Commission. 

The Parliament's position is that the new EU budget should focus more on key programmes and policies aimed at improving people's lives, increasing competitiveness and improving the defence of EU Member States while tackling climate change, poor healthcare and illegal migration.