site.btaParliament Adopts Amendments to Defence and Armed Forces Act on First Reading

Parliament Adopts Amendments to Defence and Armed Forces Act on First Reading

Sofia, March 6 (BTA) - Parliament adopted on first reading
amendments to the Defence and Armed Forces Act on Friday. Out of
the 159 MPs who voted, 132 were in favour and seven against
with 20 abstentions.

The purpose of the amendments is to make it legally possible for
an international organization to be paired with Bulgarian
servicemen and civilian staff on the territory of Bulgaria.
According to Cabinet, which tabled the amendments, the NATO
Crisis Management and Disaster Response Centre of Excellence is
an example of such an organization.

The amendments allow the possibility for the Union of
Commissioned and Noncommissioned Reserve Officers to receive
funding from the State budget via the Defence Ministry's budget.
The goal is to provide administrative capacity for the
chairmanship of the Interallied Confederation of Reserve
Officers of NATO members. Bulgaria has assumed the presidency of
the National Reserve Forces Committee between 2014 and 2016.

After voting in Parliament, Ataka MP Desislav Choukolov said
that he voted against because the amendments give Bulgaria's
sovereignty away. According to him, this allows foreign
servicemen to come to Bulgaria and command Bulgarian armies.
Choukolov was referring to NATO's recent decision to create
command and control centres in Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania,
Poland, Romania and Bulgaria in response to the challenges
coming from Russia and the Islamic extremists. The centres
facilitate the rapid deployment of NATO forces in case of
emergencies.