site.btaParliament Adopts Position on Draft Bulgaria Programme for Bulgaria's Presidency of the EU Council

Sofia, December 1 (BTA) - Parliament Friday adopted a position on the draft programme of the Bulgarian Presidency of the EU Council - January 1 to June 30, 2018. The position was tabled by MPs from different groups. The document was adopted with the votes of 154 of the 169 MPs present, while 15 abstained.

Parliament supports on principle the priorities set down in the draft programme and shares the main ideas of consensus, competitiveness and cohesion, as well as the motto of the Bulgarian Presidency, United We Stand Strong.

The National Assembly proposes that the government also take into account the following subjects as it adopts the final version of the programme: EU budget; cohesion policy; common agricultural policy; defence, security and migration; European social model; education, youth and culture; competitive economy and digital Europe; association and regional cooperation.

Parliament encourages the government to work for the adoption of balanced decisions to preserve unity among the EU member states and achieve the EU priorities. At the same time, it should focus its efforts on achieving tangible results during the Presidency.

The MPs want the ministers to brief the competent parliamentary committees regularly on the progress made on achieving the priorities of the Bulgarian Presidency, as well as to present the results of the meetings of the Council at the National Assembly.

The final version of the Programme should be presented in Parliament after it is adopted by the Council of Ministers.

The majority in plenary rejected a draft position tabled by the Chairman of the Movement for Rights and Freedoms Mustafa Karadaya and the party group. It had texts concerning extreme nationalism and human rights and liberties. As she took the floor to thank the MPs for approving the position, the government minister for the Bulgarian Presidency, Lilyana Pavlova, said that respect for fundamental rights and freedoms is a founding principle in the EU and Bulgaria has always abided by that - and will continue to do so during the Presidency.

She also said that Parliament has a very serious role to play and the government treats with the due seriousness all issues raised by the MPs. She thanked Parliament for its cooperation in formulating the priorities and made a point of mentioning "the professional approach" of the chair of the parliamentary European Affairs Committee, Kristian Vigenin (Socialist).

The draft programme of the Bulgarian Presidency will be submitted to the government for final approval on December 6.