internal and international frontiers.Stoyanov said ethnic Albans in Yugoslavia had a right to live under a democratic system. He said the West should support promotion of civil societies in the Balkans to foster ethnic tolerance and help the region shed its image as Europes trouble spot.Bulgaria suffered economic losses but remained untouched during a decade of wars accompanying the break-up of the former Yugoslavia. It allowed NATO to use its airspace during the 1999 bombing of Yugoslav forces, which drove them out of Kosovo.But concerns have been raised in Bulgaria by the recent fighting between neighboring Macedonia and ethnic Albanian guerrillas along the Macedonia-Kosovo border.BULGARIA SETS STAGE FOR PARLIAMENTARY POLLBulgarian president peter Stoyanov on March 29, 2001 set June 17 as the date of a parliamentary elections, expected to be a tight race in which exiled King Simeon II has emerged as a possible wild-card candidate. The parliamentary poll is also sure to be overshadowed by the crisis in neighboring Macedonia which has unnerved politicians, scared citizens and further underscored investor wariness over the Balkan region.The government of Ivan Kostov (he leads UDF, the center-right party), is the first in the Balkan state to serve a full four-year mandate since the end of one-party rule in 1989.The governments popularity has waned due to falling living standards, painful market reforms and a series of public scandals involving some top UDF officials.Opinion polls show that the public is desperate for an alternative and the King has emerged as a potentially welcome third force.IMF APPROVES $66 MLN LOAN INSTALLMENT FOR BULGARIAThe International Monetary Fund said it had approved a $66 million loan to Bulgaria, the final disbursement under a three-year deal which helped the Balkan countrys recovery from a 1997 financial crisis.The Washington-based lending agency said its decision to disburse the funds came after the completi...
