site.btaParliament Passes at First Reading Questionable Revisions to Cultural Heritage Act

Parliament Passes at First Reading Questionable Revisions to Cultural Heritage Act

Sofia, February 4 (BTA) - Sites which essentially do not have the status of cultural values should be excluded from the applicable field of the Cultural Heritage Act, providing local authorities with the capacity to manage them, first-reading revisions to the Cultural heritage Act passed by Parliament Thursday provide. The bill was tabled by Krassimir Velchev of GERB and a group of MPs.

The bill proposes the establishment of specialized units in the administrations of Sofia and the large cities, including three specialists meeting the requirements for conservation and restoration works.

The author of the text has also introduced the principle of Ñtacit agreementÒ in the cases where projects are not coordinated within the legally established two-month time limit after the date of application. The aim is to limit the inactivity of the administration and the opportunities for corruption.

Until now, this activity was the responsibility of the National Institute of Tangible Cultural Heritage, which delays case files by months and even year because of shortage of staff, the motives supporting the bill say.

Objections to the changes were  raised by MPs of the Bulgarian Socialist Party and the Reformist Bloc, as well as by ABV, while the Patriotic Front disagreed with them and admired the "tacit agreement".