SOFIA (Reuters) - Bulgaria’s ruling GERB party has withdrawn from parliament a European treaty designed to combat violence against women in the face of opposition from its allies in government and religious groups.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.

Speaking to Bulgarian television station bTV, Borissov said that GERB would not proceed with the ratification of the treaty, also known as the Istanbul Convention, due to lack of support from political parties, including the nationalist United Patriots, its junior coalition partner.

“We will adopt the Istanbul Convention only if there is a consensus in Bulgarian society,” Borissov said during an interview on Wednesday night, three weeks after his party decided to delay the vote to allow more time for debate.

Volen Siderov, one of United Patriots’ co-leaders, had warned that if GERB sought parliamentary approval for the treaty, it could lead to the fall of the government and early parliamentary elections. The opposition Socialists had even demanded a referendum on the issue.

LOST IN TRANSLATION?

The dispute appeared to center on the treaty’s definition of ‘gender’ as “social roles, behaviors, activities and characteristics that a particular society considers appropriate for women and men”.

Some observers said the translation of the text into Bulgarian could be to blame.

The Bulgarian version uses the Bulgarian for ‘sex’ - the biological difference between man and woman - as the translation for ‘gender’, which can refer more broadly to the social roles of men and women. Bulgarian does not have a specific equivalent for the word gender.

Critics, including the influential Bulgarian Orthodox Church, said such language could encourage young people to identify as transgender or third sex and lead to same-sex marriage in the country of 7.1 million people.

“In practice, this makes it possible to legalize same-sex marriages – if one of the two married partners in a legally married couple changes their sex, according to the Istanbul Convention, a same-sex family is created,” the nationalist VMRO party, part of an alliance with the co-ruling United Patriots, said in a statement.

Daniel Smilov, a political analyst at the Centre for Liberal Strategies in Sofia, noted the issue with the translation.

“This is a linguistic problem and is easy to fix,” he said. “What’s more important is the change in the political atmosphere in the country.”

“With this retreat, GERB shows it can be easily squeezed by its nationalist partners... even retreating from its pro-European orientation.”

Siderov said he was “glad that Prime Minister Boyko Borissov listened to my advice”.

“If they (GERB) had continued their efforts to adopt it, it would have shaken the stability of the state.”

Bulgaria’s government signed the 81-article document in 2016 and parliamentary ratification is the next step. In all, more than 40 countries have signed.

Bulgaria’s EU neighbor Romania has ratified the convention, but Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia have not yet. Nor have Britain, Croatia, Greece or Ireland. Council of Europe members Azerbaijan and Russia have yet to sign.</s>SOFIA: Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov said that the ruling GERB party is withdrawing a European treaty designed to combat violence against women from ratification in parliament over strong opposition expressed by religious and political groups.

The centre-right government, led by Borissov, submitted the Council of Europe convention for ratification last month but the move divided opinion in the European Union’s poorest country, which now holds the EU’s rotating presidency.

The dispute overshadows Borissov’s efforts to present the ex-communist state, which joined the European Union 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.

Speaking to Bulgarian television station bTV, Borissov said that GERB would not proceed with the ratification of the treaty, also known as the Istanbul Convention, due to lack of support from political parties, including the nationalist United Patriots, its junior coalition partner.

A few days ago, Volen Siderov, one of United Patriots’ co-leaders, said that if GERB sought parliamentary approval for the treaty, this could lead to the fall of the government and early parliamentary elections.

"We will adopt the Istanbul Convention only if there is a consensus in Bulgarian society," Borissov said during an interview on Wednesday night, three weeks after his party decided to delay the vote to allow more time for debate.

Critics of the treaty, including the influential Bulgarian Orthodox Church, say it could encourage young people to identify as transgender or third sex and lead to same-sex marriage in the country of 7.1 million people.

Bulgarian President Rumen Radev also came out against ratification, saying the loose and vague language used in the text allows for multiple interpretations, the consequences of which may be dire for the Black Sea state.

He also said that the convention itself does not prevent violence, adding the problem still exists in countries that have already ratified it.

The Socialists, the main opposition party in the Balkan country, even demanded a referendum on the issue.

Bulgaria's government signed the 81-article document in 2016 and parliamentary ratification is the next step. In all, more than 40 countries have signed.</s>This is the second time the Balkan nation, which currently holds the EU’s rotating presidency, has clashed with Brussels bureaucrats after Sofia rejected EU-backed anti-corruption legislation earlier this year. Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov said today the ruling GERB party has withdrawn the European treaty, designed to combat violence against women, from ratification in parliament after strong opposition expressed by religious and political groups. The centre-right government, led by Mr Borissov, submitted the Council of Europe convention for ratification last month but the move divided opinion in the EU’s poorest country. The dispute overshadows Mr Borissov's efforts to present the ex-communist state, which joined the European Union 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. Speaking to Bulgarian television station bTV, Mr Borissov confirmed the GERB would not proceed with the ratification of the treaty, also known as the Istanbul Convention, due to lack of support from political parties, including the nationalist United Patriots, its junior coalition partner. It comes after Volen Siderov, a United Patriots' co-leaders, warned the party against parliamentary approval for the treaty, saying it could lead to the fall of the government and early parliamentary elections. Ahead of the decision, Mr Borissov said: "We will adopt the Istanbul Convention only if there is a consensus in Bulgarian society,”during an interview on Wednesday night, three weeks after his party decided to delay the vote to allow more time for debate.

Critics of the treaty, including the influential Bulgarian Orthodox Church, say it could encourage young people to identify as transgender or third sex and lead to same-sex marriage in the country of 7.1 million people. Bulgarian President Rumen Radev also came out against the treaty, saying the loose and vague language used in the text allows for multiple interpretations, which could result in dire consequences for the Black Sea state. The president, who was elected in November 2016, argued that the convention itself does not prevent violence, adding the problem still exists in countries that have already ratified it. The Socialists, the main opposition party in the Balkan country, even demanded a referendum on the issue. Bulgaria's government signed the 81-article document in 2016 and parliamentary ratification is the next step. More than 40 countries have signed the treaty.
Prime Minister of Bulgaria Boyko Borissov says that GERB, his party, will not ratify the convention due to lack of support from political parties. The treaty was designed by the Council of Europe to combat domestic violence and violence against women but critics say its language is vague, it could encourage youth to identify as transgender or third gender and it could lead to same-sex marriage in Bulgaria.