Bulgaria's right-wing Union of Democratic Forces, UDF, is going to approach President, Rosen Plevneliev, with a request to veto the controversial Forestry Act, passed by the Parliament Wednesday.

At a briefing in the Parliament Thursday, the UDF MP, Vanio Sharkov, announced that representatives of the party will meet next week with Plevneliev to inform him on their motives for asking for the veto.

On Wednesday, the Bulgarian Parliament passed definitively the controversial Forestry Act, allowing construction of ski tracks and lifts without changing the status of the land.

The opposition left-wing Coalition for Bulgaria also declared it was going to notify the European Commission about the amendments to the Forestry Act, ask the President to veto them, and alert the Constitutional Court about direct violations of the supreme law.

Sharkov informed that UDF have already spoken with Plevneliev on the phone to arrange the said meeting for next week. The party's lawyers are meeting Thursday with the President's legal advisers and NGOs to discuss the Act.

"This is the time for Plevneliev to show whose side he is on – the one of the oligarchs or the one of the people who want to preserve Bulgaria's nature. The forests were the last thing remaining untouched in the country. He needs to take a firm stand," the UDF MP stressed.

Over 2 000 eco activists and their supporters gathered Wednesday evening at the area of Orlov Most (Eagles Bridge) in downtown Sofia to protest the passing of the amendments. The demonstrators blocked traffic on the city's main thoroughfare "Tsraigradsko Shosse" by sitting on the road. This triggered direct clashes with riot police. The eco activists rallied without a permit since the protest was organized through the social network Facebook. 12 people were arrested.