Sofia, 22 May 2023 (dpa/MIA) - Bulgaria's two pro-Western camps agreed to form a coalition on Monday one-and-a-half months after elections in the country.

Scientist and former education minister Nikolai Denkov of the liberal-conservative PP-DB bloc and former European commissioner Maria Gabriel of the centre-right GERB-SDS alliance are expected to take turns at leading the government, each for nine months.

Denkov is expected to be first to assume the post of premier.

The new coalition has a majority in parliament of 133 out of 240 lawmakers.

Gabriel said everyone had made "many concessions" in order for the country to have a stable government.

Denkov cited judicial reforms and the implementation of conditions for Bulgaria's accession to the border-free Schengen area and the eurozone as priorities.

Former EU commissioner Gabriel was tasked with forming a government by Bulgarian head of state Rumen Radev a week ago but failed because the PP-DB bloc stuck to its election promise not to support a GERB-led government over corruption allegations.

Radev will likely task the new alliance with forming a government in the coming days. An interim cabinet is currently running the country.

"Today’s announcement of the compromise to form a stable government is good news for Bulgaria and for the EU," wrote European Council President Charles Michel on Twitter.

In the election in early April, the GERB alliance came first, PP-DB second.

It was the fifth election in Bulgaria in two years. The former Eastern Bloc country belongs to both the EU and NATO.