Greedy Bulgarian MPs Untouchable for Ethical Commission

Bulgaria's Parliamentary Speaker Tsetska Tsacheva (R) was disappointed with the absence of 15 out of the 16 discredited MPs. Phot by BGNES

Bulgaria's Parliamentary Ethical Commission has not been able to take up the case with the 16 Bulgarian MPs who shamefully skipped work last week to "receive" luxurious cell phones.

Parliamentary Speaker Tsetska Tsacheva from the ruling centrist GERB, who already condemned the MPs' behavior, arrived in the Bulgarian Parliament especially to participate in the discussion. However - only one of the jokingly labeled by the media "New Cell Phone Lovers' Parliamentary Group" - Rumen Takorov from the leftist opposition party BSP - appeared before the commission.

The 8 GERB MPs, who were involved in the scandal, have sent a letter citing their declaration on Wednesday, in which they apologized to all their voters and declared they will donate half of their salary for December for charity.

Tsetska Tsacheva was disappointed with the MPs' absence and pointed out that she has prepared a new set of ethical rules for the members of the Bulgarian Parliament, which she would have presented before the commission, should the MPs had gathered.

The Ethical Commission does not possess any legislative basis on which to discuss the MPs' behavior in this case, according to several representatives of different Parliamentary Groups.

The joint operation between the private channel bTV and the "168 Chasa" (168 Hours) weekly consisted of offering luxurious cell phones, worth over BGN 6000 to 42 Bulgarian MPs. An expensive party was "organized" at a hotel in downtown Sofia where the phones were supposed to be handed out to them.

The party coincided with a Parliamentary session. Sixteen of the invited MPs skipped work to get hold of the "gifts" despite the fact the ethics code bans them from accepting gifts worth over BGN 200.

The MPs did not realize they were being tricked, even though the invitations were signed by a company named Klaus Barbie, who is a notorious Gestapo member and war criminal, known as the Butcher of Lyon.

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