Bulgaria's parliament approves new government

SOFIA, Bulgaria (AP) — Bulgaria's parliament on Friday formally approved the country's new center-right government in an attempt to restore stability and spur economic development in the poorest EU member country.

Lawmakers voted 149-85 to elect 55-year-old Boyko Borisov as the new prime minister.

In a separate vote, legislators also approved the Cabinet — a 20-member minority coalition between Borisov's center-right GERB party and the right-wing Reformist bloc, which together have 107 of the 240 seats in parliament. The government can also rely on the declared support by the 30 legislators of the nationalist Patriotic Front and the left-wing ABV party.

The former Sofia mayor, who won the largest share in early parliamentary elections on Oct. 5, ousted a Socialist-led coalition. Borisov was prime minister between 2009 and February 2013, when he stepped down amid nationwide social protests that turned violent.

Analysts predict a hard time for the new Cabinet, which faces challenges of pushing through legal reforms, reviving the slow economy and unfreezing blocked EU funds.

"We know that in order to yield results the reforms need to start immediately and the deadline is today," Borisov told parliament.

The European Commission has repeatedly urged the Balkan country to implement reforms in the judicial system and police force to restore the sense of justice among Bulgaria's 7.3 million people.

Borisov appointed Meglena Kuneva, a former EU commissioner, as his deputy in charge of European affairs. The new finance minister is Vladislav Goranov, who was deputy finance minister in Borisov's earlier government. Hristo Ivanov, program director of the Bulgarian Institute for Legal Initiatives, is the new justice minister.

Daniel Mitov, a strong supporter of Bulgaria's EU and NATO membership, is the new foreign minister, and Nikolay Nenchev now heads the ministry of defense.