European Parliament President Roberta Metsola has launched a sanctions procedure against Bulgarian MEP Angel Dzhambazki from the European Conservatives and Reformists group after he gave what appeared to be a Nazi salute in the parliament chamber in Strasbourg.
“A fascist salute in the European Parliament is unacceptable to me - always and everywhere. It offends me and everyone else in Europe. We stand for the opposite. We are the House of democracy. That gesture is from the darkest chapter of our history and must be left there,” Roberta Metsola wrote on Twitter.
The incident took place after Dzhambazki addressed Parliament during the debate on the rule of law following the EU Court of Justice decision to allow the European Commission to cut funds to countries which violate rule-of-law standards. Angel Dzhambazki stated it had nothing to do with law and the rule of law, but “hate for nation states”, and accused the EU of trying to intimidate Poland and Hungary. “Long live Orban, Fidesz, Kaczynski, Bulgaria, and our nation state. Long live Europe, the Europe of nations,” he said.
According to Dzhambazki the salute was no more than a goodbye gesture, BNR’s correspondent in Brussels Anguelina Piskova reports.
“Historically, Bulgaria has proved its tolerance of different ethnic groups and its intolerance of discrimination and hate speech,” a position released by the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry reads. “In connection with this, any actions, which could be interpreted as symbols connected with totalitarian regimes are unacceptable.”
As of 4pm, the average turnout across the country was 26.25%, according to the Central Election Commission (CEC). This was announced at a briefing by the commission's deputy chairperson and spokesperson, Rositsa Mateva. The highest turnout was in..
Bulgaria is holding its seventh election in three years. As in the last elections in June, turnout is low. According to a Radio Bulgaria vox populi poll in central Sofia, the general opinion is that what is needed is good governance. That means clear..
A screening of the film "MPO - 100 Years Struggle for Freedom" will be held on November 9 at the Bulgarica Cultural Center in Chicago, USA, according to the Center's Facebook page. The film will be shown at 19:00 local time. The film is about the..
According to the preliminary results of the parliamentary elections, the MECH party is emerging as a new player in parliament. The acronym MECH stands..
Data from the parallel count, with 100% of the sample counted, by the polling agency Gallup International Balkan, partner of BNR in the coverage of the..
After the early parliamentary elections on October 27, the Central Election Commission published data of 100% of processed tally sheets...
+359 2 9336 661