Bulgaria rejects treaty to combat violence against women
Source: Reuters
SOFIA (Reuters) - Bulgaria’s ruling GERB party has withdrawn from parliament a European treaty designed to combat violence against women in the face of opposition from its allies in government and religious groups.
The center-right government of Prime Minister Boyko Borissov submitted the Council of Europe convention for ratification last month but language around gender roles triggered uproar in the European Union’s poorest country, which now holds the bloc’s rotating presidency.
The dispute overshadows Borissov’s efforts to present the ex-communist state, which joined the EU in 2007, as a progressive and open-minded country during its first stint as chair of the bloc.
It also highlights widespread resistance among the more socially conservative countries of the former eastern bloc to the liberal values of wealthier western Europe.
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WORLD NEWS FEBRUARY 15, 2018 / 1:13 AM / UPDATED 29 MINUTES AGO
Angel Krasimirov
4 MIN READ
Read more: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-bulgaria-treaty/bulgaria-rejects-treaty-to-combat-violence-against-women-idUSKCN1FZ0FJ
