Hristo Valchanov was fired from the post of executive director of the Bulgarian Food Safety Agency by order of Prime Minister Galab Donev. The position is occupied by the former deputy executive director of the agency, Ivan Shikov, the Press Center of the Cabinet of Ministers announced. The change was proposed by Agriculture Minister Yavor Gechev.
Hristo Valchanov was appointed executive director of the Bulgarian Food Safety Agency (BASHA) by order of Prime Minister Galab Donev in early October. Until that time, Hristo Valchanov held the position of Deputy Executive Director of the BBAH. In the period from July 2021 to January 2022 he also served as Executive Director of the Agency.
Earlier in the day, representatives of “Continuing Change” (PP) filed a report to the State Agency “National Security” (DANS) against the Bulgarian Food Safety Agency (BASHA). According to them, the report is related to established inactions that prevent the BABH from protecting its interests in relation to border control of the “Captain Andreevo” border crossing point.
In front of reporters, former Deputy Agriculture Minister Ivan Hristanov said that one of the most important cases was irretrievably lost and the state interest was not protected because a state fee of BGN 70 was not paid. “We note that BABH management systematically does not send representatives of the Legal Department to defend the state’s interest in court hearings,” he added.
According to Daniel Laurer, BABH appears to be sabotaging the action taken by the “Petkov” cabinet. “The signal we will send concerns the inaction of this institution with respect to the measures we have taken so that the situation does not repeat itself”, he underlined.
“As we know, the behind-the-scenes “golden laboratory”, which for years spent poisonous vegetables and fruits in the European Union, appealed its cases to be expelled from there, and by chance, an employee of the BABH decided that he would not have paid his fees and thus ruined a third degree of this case,” said Kiril Petkov for his part.
Parts of the Kapitan Andreevo border crossing have already been declared a strategic object of national security importance by a decision of the interim government. On the basis of this decision, DANS controls the preliminary admission of all those who can access the premises and exercises specific protection, including informational and physical.
