ALDE welcomes strong Bulgarian representation but warns against slide to the right

12.00.00am BST (GMT +0100) Mon 21st May 2007

European Liberals and Democrats welcome the results of the first European Parliament elections held in Bulgaria on 20 May 2007. As the final votes in the Bulgarian elections are being counted, Graham Watson welcomed the return of a strong contingent of Bulgarian MEPs to the ALDE Group.

"The public support for the Movement for Rights and Freedoms reflects not only their excellent campaign but also the general preference of the Bulgarian voter for balanced, centrist, pro-European formations as an alternative to the bipolar left-right model of the early transition years", said European Liberal Democrat Leader Graham Watson. "However, I do have some concern over the greater representation of Ataka which is the antithesis of everything we value in the EU".

"Naturally I regret that the National Movement Simeon II failed to return the same number of MEPs but I expect that their representative will be as active and hard-working a colleague as her predecessors. I look forward to working with all Bulgarian MEPs in ALDE for a stronger, more prosperous and dynamic European Union".