Bulgaria Economy Minister Acquitted of Conflict of Interests

Bulgaria's Economy Minister, Traicho Traikov (middle), has been acquitted of conflict of interests despite the claims of the Socialists. Photo by BGNES

The Anti-Corruption Committee of the Bulgarian Parliament has concluded that Minister of Economy, Energy, and Tourism, Traicho Traikov, is not involved in a conflict of interests.

“The signal about me submitted by the Spokesperson of the Bulgarian Socialist Party, Korneliya Ninova, was fake, deceiving, and wasted the time of us all,” Traikov himself stated after learning the decision of the Parliamentary Committee.

In his words, the Committee is working on the final report on case in which he was investigated for conflict of interests.

The Socialists have claimed that Traikov’s former position as a legal procurator of the Austrian-owned electricity provider EVN generated a conflict of interests with his appointment as Minister of Economy, Energy, and Tourism because the law required a period of at least 12 months before leaving a private management job and taking up a related government one.

However, it has turned out that under the Conflict of Interests Act the position that Traikov occupied at EVN is not listed among the prohibited jobs.

The Minister explained that the procurator had an executive job and was required to act according to the decisions of the governing body, and thus did not bear personal responsibility.