Bulgarian MPs Return to Work for No-Confidence Motion on Friday

Bulgarian Parliament Speaker Mihail Mikov said the vote could be postponed until the European elections have been held. Photo by BGNES

Lawmakers will have to gather in Bulgaria's Parliament to debate and vote on a no-confidence motion against the government, Parliament Speaker Mihail Mikov announced.

They are due to convene on Friday to discuss a motion of no confidence introduced by the opposition GERB party over the energy policies of Prime Minister Plamen Oresharski's cabinet.

Friday's vote will be held despite the vacation imposed in Parliament by the upcoming European elections on May 25.

Under procedural rules, MPs are to begin debating on the motion in a week after it has been put forward, and GERB's text was introduced precisely last Friday.

Parliament Speaker Mihail Mikov, however, told Bulgaria's Darik Radio that it was only the debate that lawmakers were obliged to conduct in a week's time, while the vote could have a few days' delay.

"I don't see any point in bringing MPs back to work two times in the midst of elections," Mikov added, thus hinting the vote could be put off for next week, after the European elections have been held.

The motion submitted Friday has been the fourth one by now-opposition GERB, the center-right party of former Prime Minister Boyko Borisov, since the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) came to power in May 2013.

Energy is a sector sparking huge controversy in Bulgaria over the past months, as the National Electricity Company (NEK) is believed to be in a state of technical default with debts still going up, but also as national regulator DKEVR and the electricity distribution companies (EDCs) are involved in a bitter dispute which at a certain point was on the verge of ending with power distributor's licenses suspended.

On Wednesday, DKEVR announced that the three foreign-based EDCs, CEZ, EVN and Energo-Pro had committed nearly 2700 violations in Bulgaria and were facing a minimal fine of BGN 50 M.

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