site.btaUPDATED Parliamentary Monitor: Wednesday

Meeting on Wednesday, Bulgaria’s Parliament transacted business as follows:

- completed the composition of two parliamentary committees on a proposal by Viktoria Vassileva, Deputy Floor Leader of There Is Such a People (TISP). Tihomir Tanev (TISP) was elected member of the Committee on Transport and Communications, and Hristinka Ivanova (TISP) was elected member of the Committee on Children, Youth and Sport;

- adopted, 134-73, first-reading revisions to the Judiciary Act whereby the specialized justice in Bulgaria is to be closed down. The draft amendments were tabled by the Council of Ministers. The debate continued for over three hours and mainly involved the GERB-UDF group, who are against the shutdown of the specialized court and prosecution office, and the ruling majority who back the proposed changes;

- rejected a proposal by GERB-UDF for a hearing of Prime Minister Kiril Petkov in relation to what the parliamentary group call "an unprecedented political repression through the Interior Ministry's structures against the leader of the biggest opposition party". They are referring to the March 17 detention of GERB leader and ex-prime minister Boyko Borissov, who was released just under 24 hours later; no charges were brought against him;

- the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) demanded that National Assembly Chair Nikola Minchev obtain the text of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP) from Finance Minister Assen Vassilev so that it can be provided to the MPs. Dzhevdet Chakarov MP of MRF said that the Government had not tabled the document in Parliament and that Bulgaria is the only EU Member State that is not receiving resources under its NRRP;

***

At a news briefing in Parliament, GERB Deputy Chairperson Tomislav Donchev (GERB-UDF) said that a motion of no confidence in the government is certainly necessary, first and foremost over its economic policy.

***

At a discussion e-Justice at the Committee on e-Government and Information Technology, Justice Minister Nadezhda Yordanova and e-Government Minister Bozhidar Bozhanov stressed that e-Justice needs to guarantee the rights of every citizen, no matter their social status. Attending were representatives of the Supreme Judicial Council, magistrates' organizations and courts, and Information Services CEO Ivaylo Filipov.