site.btaUPDATED Parliamentary Monitor: Thursday

At its plenary sitting on Thursday, the National Assembly transacted business as follows:

-- adopted on first reading amendments to the Postal Services Act with 121 votes in favour and 90 against, without abstentions. The MPs of GERB-UDF, MRF and Vazrazhdane voted against the bill, while Continue the Change, BSP for Bulgaria, Democratic Bulgaria and There Is Such a People voted in favour. The amendments propose that the state policy in the field of postal services and stamp issuance be carried out by a Deputy Prime Minister appointed by a decree of the Council of Ministers, according to the report of the relevant committee on transport and communications.

-- adopted on second reading amendments to the Markets in Financial Instruments Act. According to the adopted texts, the Financial Supervision Commission (FSC) and the State Agency for National Security will cooperate within their competence in providing information on combating money laundering and terrorist financing. The adopted texts also change some of the provisions in the Insurance Code. The changes are related to the strengthening of the exchange of information and cooperation between the supervisory authorities and the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) in the event of a significant cross-border insurance business or crisis situation.

-- adopted on first reading amendments to the Implementation of Penal Sanctions and Detention in Custody Act. The normative changes create a legal possibility for escorting detained persons in cases of exceptional reasons of a personal and family nature.

-- as of July 1 this year, the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) will be responsible for granting, reporting, controlling, paying for and repairing aids for people with disabilities, said National Health Insurance Fund Director Prof. Petko Salchev during his hearing in the National Assembly. The expenses will be covered by the Ministry of Health.

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The National Assembly Committee for the Prevention of Corruption did not adopt the activity report for 2021 of the Counter-Corruption and Unlawfully Acquired Assets Forfeiture Commission, submitted to the National Assembly on February 22. The report was backed by six members of the Committee but ten voted against it.

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The National Assembly Committee on Health rejected proposed amendments to the Value Added Tax Act. The Committee voted down the draft decision tabled by the opposition Vazrazhdane for adopting zero VAT rate on goods in the smaller consumer basket of the National Statistical Institute such as: food, electricity, gas, water, drugs, medical devices, child car seats, among others.

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The proposal of declaring a force majeure for all sectors is not supported by the majority of parties in the National Assembly, a media survey, conducted in the corridors of Parliament on Thursday, shows.

On March 16, Deputy Prime Minister and Economy and Industry Minister Korneliya Ninova told the National Assembly Economic Policy and Innovation Committee that her Ministry will approach the Council of Ministers with a proposal to adopt a decision declaring force majeure for all economic sectors, effective retroactively from February 24 to March 31, 2022.

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After a meeting of the National Assembly Committee for Control of the Security Services here on Thursday, Vazrazhdane leader Kostadin Kostadinov told journalists that the heads of all three Bulgarian security services have said that they have no information about Kostadinov’s ban from entering Ukraine.

The parliamentary committee held a hearing of the Chairperson of the State Agency for National Security, Plamen Tonchev, the Director of the Defence Intelligence Service, Brig Gen. Venelin Venev and the State Intelligence Agency's head, Antoan Gechev.

On March 7, at a press conference in BTA after his return to Sofia from Bolhrad, Ukraine, Kostadinov said that Ukraine has blacklisted and banned him from entering the country for the next 10 years.