Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev government faced corruption accusations in a no-confidence debate in parliament on Thursday, according to dpa. Opposition speakers alleged that corruption of Stanishev's cabinet, in power since August 2005, was damaging the Balkan nation's image within the European Union, which it joined a year ago. "The government must go ... because EU pointed to corruption in Bulgaria," the former premier Ivan Kostov said, referring to the latest EU report on the country. Cabinet ministers dismissed the allegations as unfounded. The no-confidence vote was scheduled for Friday. The grand coalition of Stanishev's Socialist Party, the conservative National Movement of ex-King Simeon II and an ethnic Turkish party is expected to easily prevail with its 151-89 majority.
