Bulgarian Nationalist Leader Calls for Stripping President of Immunity

Volen Siderov, leader of Bulgarian nationalist party Ataka, has called for stripping President Rosen Plevneliev of immunity from prosecution.

Siderov announced Friday in Parliament that a petition had been launched for establishing an ad-hoc inquiry committee which would be tasked with investigating "unauthorized" meetings of President Plevneliev.

"Several days ago, Bulgarian President Plevneliev had an unauthorized meeting with Stefan Szyszkowitz, Managing Director of EVN Bulgaria, in Wien. Bulgarians have not been told the reason yet. The Bulgarian society must be aware of the interests on which the President is dependent. Let us collect signatures for an inquiry committee as fast as possible," Siderov urged.

The meeting between Plevneliev and the Managing Director of the Bulgarian unit of power distributor EVN in Wien made headlines after Bulgarian daily Telegraph requested official information about who had requested the meeting, what topics had been discussed and whether Bulgaria's national interests had been defended.

The newspaper also asked why the meeting had not been announced as part of the agenda of Plevneliev's visit to Austria.

The president's office confirmed in a media statement on Wednesday that the meeting had taken place, adding that the details would be published soon.