The tripartite coalition Government led by Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) leader Sergei  Stanishev has survived the sixth no confidence motion filed against it by the opposition. A total of 84 MPs from the opposition supported the motion on July 30 2008 with 150 voting against and one independent MP abstaining.

MPs from the three ruling parties, the BSP, the National Movement for Stability and Progress (NMSP), the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) rejected the motion.

It was filed on the grounds of the Government's actions that has led to the European Commission freezing about 800 million euro in European Union funding to the country.

The EC froze the money on July 23 after releasing its latest interim report on Bulgaria in which it expresses serious doubts about the country's ability to tackle corruption in managing EU money.

The result was expected because the ruling three parties have a majority of 150 MPs in the 240 seated Parliament. Unlike in April – when the NMSP MPs abstained from voting when Parliament rejected the fifth no confidence vote against the Government  – this time the coalition showed no signs of disunity. 

“We are witnessing a scenario that started this year. Since January there have been three no confidence motions filed against the Government and I would not be surprised if another one awaits us in the autumn. This seems to be the opposition's only way to come to power, by trying to destabilise the country,” Stanishev told Parliament after the vote took place.

He asked the opposition to display responsible behaviour, stop demanding early elections and stop calling for protests on the streets.

“A caretaker government, early elections and long weeks of negotiations to form a Cabinet will be a lost time for Bulgaria when the country has to do its best in absorbing EU funds,” he said.

“We are not perfect but we cannot afford the luxury of having early elections,” Stanishev noted.

He admitted that the state administration had problems in working with EU structural programmes. “We are soon going to launch a recruitment programme that aims to attract 300 experts to state administration,” he said. “However, I would not accept that all people working with EU funds can be declared to be incompetent”.