Bulgaria's VP Turns On President Plevneliev over Commission Hearing

Politics » DOMESTIC | May 12, 2014, Monday // 17:09
Bulgaria: Bulgaria's VP Turns On President Plevneliev over Commission Hearing President Rosen Plevneliev (L) and Vice-President Margarita Popova (R) have recently been at odds over numerous issues. Photo by BGNES

Margarita Popova, Bulgaria's Vice-President, has voiced criticism at President Rosen Plevneliev.

She made her position clear following Plevneliev's decision not to attend a session in a Committee allegedly targeting his activities.

"I am absolutely convinced that in this case the President has considered [the situation] very well and knows that such action can not be a personal choice. This is a strong political move, a political action and an act of statesmanship. It therefore has to be carefully considered," Popova said on the Bulgarian National Radio.

Her words were a response to an interview for the bTV channel in which he said he would not appear at the Commission's sitting to avoid legitimizing of "an unconstitutional and undemocratic initiative".

On Thursday, May 8, the Bulgarian Parliament voted to set up a committee to look into the electricity distribution companies (EDCs) and "their unauthorized contacts with politicians".

Discussions preceding the motion suggested that it was aimed at the President, who in March visited Vienna and had a meeting with Austrian-based EVN's chairman for Bulgaria, Stefan Siskovic.

Their talks came amid mounting pressure between the foreign power distributors operating in Bulgaria and the National Electricity Company (NEK) over mutually alleged debts worth hundreds of millions of BGN. The dispute resulted in threats by Bulgaria's energy watchdog DKEVR to scrap licenses of grid operators.

The opposition party GERB has declared it would lodge a complaint with the Constitutional Court about he establishment of what some Bulgarian-language media describe as the "Plevneliev Committee".

Members of far-right Ataka, which was the staunchest defender of the motion, argue it is not targeting the President.

Popova's reaction on Monday is not the first recent example of her dissent with actions of Plevneliev. She has lately expressed disapproval of the motives for some of his veto actions to legislation and also of his proposal for a referendum on voting rules.

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Tags: Vice-President, Margarita Popova, Rosen Plevneliev, committee, president, EVN, power distributors, EDCs, NEK, DKEVR

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