Sofia urged to keep nationalist party Ataka at arm’s length

The two largest political groups in the European Parliament, left and right, have called on Bulgaria's new Socialist-led government to distance itself from the nationalist extremist party Ataka.

Siderov's vote had been instrumental in providing the coalition with sufficient parliamentary backing, raising concerns among Bulgaria's European partners. The GERB centre-right party of former prime minister Boyko Borissov, which had technically "won" the election decided to boycott parliament and refused to back the coalition.