Bulgaria’s Parliament imposed moratorium on concessions and appointments by outgoing government

Bulgaria’s Parliament imposed on April 22 a moratorium on concessions and appointments by the outgoing government in the period until the formation of a new government or the appointment of a caretaker government. The focus is on the sale of state and municipal hospitals, as well as appointments in the state administration and enterprises with over 50% state participation.

There were two draft resolutions for a moratorium, one moved by the Bulgarian Socialist Party and the other by “Rise Up! Thugs Out!”. They were merged in one, but there was a dispute in the plenary about who proposed the moratorium first.

The decision on the moratorium was taken after a two-hour exchange of remarks as to which formation had first submitted its resolution. The BSP accused the three new parties in Parliament of sabotaging it and allowing the Borissov model to continue to control entire sectors by rejecting their proposal last Friday.

Only GERB opposed the moratorium by not voting, and later announced at a press conference that they would ask the Constitutional Court for an interpretative decision on the moratorium and stressed that it affects many areas of economic life, for which there could be adverse consequences.

GERB will request an interpretative decision of the Constitutional Court and declaring today's decision on a moratorium unconstitutional. This was announced at a briefing in the Parliament by Desislava Atanasova.

According to GERB, this decision blocks the work of the entire country. In all 265 municipalities in Bulgaria, the appointments of employees will be stopped. The work in the National Assembly is also blocked. No expert may be appointed or dismissed.

A majority of GERB, BSP and MRF changed a proposal by “Democratic Bulgaria” for a procedure that obliges the Prosecutor General to be heard every three months in the legal affairs committee in Parliament..At the suggestion of the MRF, in addition to the chief prosecutor, the chairpersons of the Supreme Administrative Court and the Supreme Court of Cassation will be heard.

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