The Bulgarian Ministry for Foreign Affairs published yesterday a letter from the president of the European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso with regard to the accusations against the Bulgarian Commissioner-designate and foreign minister Ms. Rumyana Zheleva that her husband has relations with a controversial economic group in Bulgaria. In the short letter, sent just day before the hearing of Ms. Zheleva in the European Parliament, the president of the Commission writes that he was has been assured by Ms. Zheleva that her declaration, like the declarations of the rest of the commissioners-designates, is entirely in line with the Code of Conduct.

"Anyone accusing anyone  of any wrong doing should, of course, present corresponding evidence, as in our democratic societies the rule of law implies  that the accuser should prove accusations, not the accused to prove innocence, as this was the case in some political regimes that Europe hasn't fortunately got anymore", Mr. Barroso writes in his letter to the chairmen of the parliamentary committees that will hear Ms. Zheleva later today.

The hearing of Ms. Zheleva will start at 16.30 CET.