site.btaUPDATED "Caretaker Cabinet Lacks Mandate to Nominate EU Commissioner," CC-DB Co-leader Petkov Argues

"The caretaker cabinet lacks a mandate to nominate a EU commissioner for the next five years. The National Assembly must approve a nomination for a EU commissioner," Continue the Change - Democratic Bulgaria (CC-DB) Co-leader Kiril Petkov commented at a news conference at Parliament on Tuesday.

Petkov recalled that CC-DB have entered a motion to amend the parliamentary rules of procedure so that the nominations for EU commissioner should be approved by the National Assembly. He pointed out that they will write a letter insisting on the fastest possible progress of this draft resolution so that each and every proposed nomination be given a hearing and be subjected to a vote at the legislature.

"We take a distrustful approach to the caretaker Cabinet and especially to the Prime Minister, who is a top-level GERB party nomenklatura," CC-DB Co-leader Atanas Atanasov said, adding that the new caretaker Interior Minister belongs to the "inner circle" of his predecessor Kalin Stoyanov.

At the beginning of the news conference, Petkov said that this country cannot possibly advance merely by caretaker cabinet and caretaker ministers. Hence, CC-DB is focusing on people's needs, the water shortage, income growth and all concerns that are important to people. "The rest are ploys of Mr Peevski and Mr Borissov," he commented, referring to Movement for Rights and Freedoms Floor Leader Delyan Peevski and GERB Party leader Boyko Borissov.

Atanasov said: "We expect the new caretaker Minister [of Interior, Atanas] Ilkov, to promptly look into the changes Kalin Stoyanov made last August, replacing 16 regional directors of the Ministry of the Interior in a single day." He added: "I likened the new appointments at that time to a political patronage. Now, Mr Ilkov, we expect you to dismantle the patronage systems that are involved in covering up the vote-buying organization." Atanasov said that he expects the Government to take action against vote-buying.