Economy and Energy Minister Petar Dimitrov has sacked Emil Alexiev, chief of the Consumer Protection Directorate at the ministry, for “failing to discharge his duties and negative statements regarding the work of the Consumer Protection Commission (CPC)”, the ministry's press service said on February 12 2008.

The ministry's disciplinary council decided last week to fire Alexiev with prejudice and Dimitrov carried it out, according to its statement.

Alexiev had criticised CPC's work in Brussels, making statements that did not reflect the ministry's position, the disciplinary council's investigation found, which raised doubts over Alexiev's impartiality in discharging his duties and his ability to separate work from personal opinion.

It addition to blocking effective cooperation with the CPC and tarnishing its image in Brussels, Alexiev routinely did not submit the paperwork required when making business trips abroad, made it impossible for the ministry to keep track of Alexiev's actions and behaviour during his Brussels trips, the ministry said.

Dimitrov has not yet appointed anyone to the vacant position, mainly because there were no experts at in the ministry that could fill his shoes, mediapool.bg said, quoting sources familiar with the situation.

Alexiev's sacking was the second similar dismissal of a high-standing official in recent months, mediapool.bg said. In January 2008, the Cabinet fired National Statistical Institute (NSI) chairman Stoyan Tsvetkov, at the request of Minister Dimitrov, for releasing inflation data to the media instead of the appropriate authorities.