The so-called Hochegger Affair has been fabricated to frame the Bulgarian Socialist Party and its leader, according to PES and BSP chair Sergey Stanishev.

"It is clear that the ad hoc Bulgarian parliamentary committee on the case services a base political errand," stated Stanishev at a press conference Tuesday.

The same day, the committee claimed that the contract that the previous, Stanishev-led Bulgarian cabinet concluded with Peter Hochegger's Austrian PR agency was used to benefit sub-contractors close to Stanishev.

In particular, a sizeable part of the funds is said to have been transferred to a company runed by Monika Yanova, the current live-in girlfriend of the socialist leader.

The ad hoc committee decided to try options for a refund of one third of the EUR 1.5 M paid by the Bulgarian government to Hochegger's company.

"This is a plain case of the committee overstepping its powers," commented Stanishev.

He also said that the ad committee has failed to consider in full all documents available regarding the case.

The socialist leader reiterated his position that the PR agency hired by his cabinet did a fine job of boosting Bulgaria's reputation in the EU.

According to Stanishev, this is a plot on the part of Bulgarian ruling GERB party to discredit their opponent, including to mar his position as leader of the Party of European Socialists.

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