European Parliament President Roberta Metsola has launched a sanctions procedure against Bulgarian MEP Angel Dzhambazki from the European Conservatives and Reformists group after he gave what appeared to be a Nazi salute in the parliament chamber in Strasbourg.

“A fascist salute in the European Parliament is unacceptable to me - always and everywhere. It offends me and everyone else in Europe. We stand for the opposite. We are the House of democracy. That gesture is from the darkest chapter of our history and must be left there,” Roberta Metsola wrote on Twitter.

The incident took place after Dzhambazki addressed Parliament during the debate on the rule of law following the EU Court of Justice decision to allow the European Commission to cut funds to countries which violate rule-of-law standards. Angel Dzhambazki stated it had nothing to do with law and the rule of law, but “hate for nation states”, and accused the EU of trying to intimidate Poland and Hungary. “Long live Orban, Fidesz, Kaczynski, Bulgaria, and our nation state. Long live Europe, the Europe of nations,” he said.

According to Dzhambazki the salute was no more than a goodbye gesture, BNR’s correspondent in Brussels Anguelina Piskova reports.

“Historically, Bulgaria has proved its tolerance of different ethnic groups and its intolerance of discrimination and hate speech,” a position released by the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry reads. “In connection with this, any actions, which could be interpreted as symbols connected with totalitarian regimes are unacceptable.”