The Party of European Socialists (PES) submitted to the European Parliament (EP) a draft document for the removal of excise duties on the domestic production of traditional alcoholic drink rakiya in Bulgaria.

Kristian Vigenin, member of the EP from Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP), tabled the proposition last week.

If the proposal is accepted, Bulgaria will have the opportunity to apply a zero excise on alcoholic drinks produced for home consumption without commercial purpose, Focus news agency reported.

BSP's MEPs managed to change the opinion of their EP colleagues concerning the excise duty on rakiya.

Deputy chair of PES Robert Goebbels said during his visit to Bulgaria last week that obviously the issue concerns the different cultural traditions in Bulgaria, which Europe will have to take into consideration.