SOFIA, Bulgaria, June 1 (UPI) -- Bulgaria's proposal to ease security officials from the old government into the diplomatic corps received a cool reception from the European Parliament.
Two European Parliament members from Germany issued a statement saying they were disappointed with the proposal, unveiled this week by the foreign minister, Kristian Vigenin.
"The efforts to reinstate diplomats, agents of the former state security are not a good signal for Bulgaria," German MEPs Michael Galer and Elmar Brok said in a statement.
Galer and Brok added their voices to the list of critics of Vigenin. Russia's RIA Novosti news service said Vigenin argued the move would bring back seasoned diplomats who had been kicked out of their jobs in 2011 after it was revealed they had been agents of collaborators with the communist-era intelligence services.
The Sofia News Agency said Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev pledged Thursday not to endorse the appointment of the former diplomats to new positions.
