site.btaParliament Launches Inquiry into Pension Funds

Parliament Launches Inquiry into Pension Funds


Sofia, February 17 (BTA) - Parliament on Tuesday set up a
committee of inquiry into the financial state of pension
insurance companies, the pension funds they run and the relevant
regulatory framework. Upon a proposal by the ruling GERB party,
the eight-member committee is headed by an opposition member -
Kornelia Ninova (BSP - Left Bulgaria), and comprises one member
from each parliamentary group. It will be active for a month.

The initial proposal, made collectively by BSP - Left Bulgaria,
the Reformist Bloc, the Patriotic Front and ABV, was that the
committee should also inquire into the supervision of pension
funds. The final version was elaborated after consultations
among the parliamentary groups.

During the debate, BSP - Left Bulgaria said the inquiry is like
a no-confidence vote against the Budget and Finance Committee in
Parliament. The group's Georgi Kadiev accused Budget and
Finance Committee Chairwoman Menda Stoyanova of rigging a recent
Committee vote on a proposal for Bulgaria to incur new external
debt. According to Kadiev, the votes of all three absent
Committee members should have been counted, not just the vote of
the absent GERB representative. Stoyanova explained that the
absent GERB member, unlike the other two, had stated in writing
how he wanted to vote.