The visit focused on the Yordanova and Others v. Bulgaria group of cases, which requires Bulgarian authorities to ensure that eviction and demolition orders affecting people’s homes respect the principle of proportionality – balancing the interests of residents with the public interest.
The delegation was led by the Congress Standing Rapporteur on Human Rights, Gudrun Mosler-Törnström, who held a political dialogue with national authorities and stakeholders. She was accompanied by Professor Nikos Chlepas (Greece), Congress advisor on constitutional matters and member of the Group of Independent Experts on the European Charter of Local Self-Government, along with representatives from the Secretariat of the Congress, the Council of Europe Development Bank and the Department for the Execution of Judgments.
The delegation held discussions with Velislava Delcheva, Ombudsperson of Bulgaria, Pavleta Pelovska, Deputy Minister for Regional Development and Public Works, members of the Bulgarian national delegation to the Congress, Nadezhda Bacheva and Stefan Durov, Deputy Mayors of Sofia, as well as representatives of the National Association of Municipalities in the Republic of Bulgaria.
The delegation also participated in a round table with the authorities and civil society to discuss good practices in addressing problems of unlawful or substandard housing, in which the , Spanish NGO “Fundación Secretariado Gitano” also took part.
