site.btaParliament Passes on First Reading Revisions to Agricultural Producers Support Act

Parliament on Wednesday adopted on first reading two bills to amend the Agricultural Producers Support Act, tabled by MPs Dessislava Taneva (GERB-UDF) and Rosen Kosturkov (Continue the Change).

The GERB-UDF revisions envisage the Agriculture Ministry to act as a managing authority of Bulgaria’s Strategic Plan for the Common Agricultural Policy and be in charge of the management and implementation of the plan. The bill also envisages national co-financing of 60% for the rural development plan.

The bill, tabled by Continue the Change, seeks to expand the substantive scope of the Act and include the implementation of the Strategic Plan and the National Recovery and Resilience Plan in the Sustainable Agriculture component.

The revisions also introduce the new elements in the Integrated Administration and Control System and sets the Area Monitoring System functions.

Caretaker Agriculture Minister Yavor Gechev said that the Strategic Plan is a new instrument which groups together all the direct payment instruments the state has used so far.