Hristo Kovachki

The sixth-biggest group in Bulgaria's Parliament dissolved itself on Friday after five of the MPs belonging to it submitted requests to leave it.

Previously, the lawmakers had threatened to quit unless a name dispute is settled.

Five Bulgarian lawmakers from the Bulgarian Democratic Center (BDC)'s parliamentary group are to submit their requests to leave it, one of the MPs has said.

BDC was set up by lawmakers who were previously part of a coalition led by MEP Nikolay Barekov and made it into Parliament within an alliance led by his Bulgaria without Censorship party.

Lider, a Bulgarian party once entering a coalition led by MEP Nikolay Barekov, has now renamed itself Bulgarian Democratic Center.

Its new name coincides with that of the parliamentary group formed by MPs from Barekov's coalition last autumn, after the alliance came sixth in Bulgaria's Parliament.

MEP and ex-journalist Nikolay Barekov's Bulgaria without Censorship has sealed a coalition agreement with Lider ("Leader") party, Barekov himself announced.

Lider, formally represented by chairman Kancho Filipov, is unofficially concentrated around energy tycoon Hristo Kovachki.

Vladislav Goranov, former MP from center-right party GERB (Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria), is to become Executive Director of Municipal Bank PLC.

The nomination of Goranov, Deputy Finance Minister during the term in office of the GERB government, is to be approved by the Bulgarian National Bank (BNB).

A company in close relation with Hristo Kovachki, a controversial Bulgarian businessman, has sought a license to operate railway freight transportation.

Bulgaria's Transport Ministry is to dedice in a few months whether to grant a permit to the entity, according to officials who confirmed for the daily Trud that such request had been received at the Ministry.