site.bta New Parliament to Lay Particular Emphasis on Matters of Local Government

New Parliament to Lay Particular Emphasis on Matters of Local Government

Sofia, November 11 (BTA) - The new Parliament will lay
particular emphasis on matters of local government, National
Assembly Chairwoman Tsetska Tsacheva said on Tuesday, addressing
local government officials who gathered in Sofia for an annual
conference.

The conference, entitled "Prospects of Growth for Bulgarian
Municipalities," was attended by Deputy Prime Minister for EU
Funds and Economic Policy Tomislav Donchev, Regional Development
and Public Works Minister Liliyana Pavlova, Agriculture and
Food Minister Dessislava Taneva, Environment and Water Minister
Ivelina Vassileva and Deputy Education and Science Minister
Nikolai Denkov.

Tsacheva listed three main priorities of the new Parliament
which was elected on October 5. First, she pointed to the need
for an entirely new law to define the place of the agencies
responsible for EU funds in order to guarantee the rights of aid
beneficiaries and regulate claim procedures. Second, the Public
Procurement Act is to be amended, she said. There must be an
unconditional guarantee that the public procurement process is
highly transparent and relevant funding is spent efficiently.
This, according to Tsacheva, can be achieved by introducing
electronic services and exercising adequate control of public
procurement procedures. Finally, Tsacheva spoke about the
planning of measures for financial decentralization, which
includes mechanisms for municipalities to implement their own
economic policies. The Parliament leader said she expects
initiatives from the local authorities, including legislative
proposals.

Tsacheva wondered why the meeting was not attended by
representatives of the National Association of Municipalities in
the Republic of Bulgaria, which has proposed an agreement with
Parliament.

She said a member of the National Assembly administration will
be in charge of local government affairs and the legislature
will hold meetings with local government representatives once
every two months in order to produce legislative initiatives. A
new unit operating under the National Assembly will assess the
impact of new legislation on the public relations which it is
supposed to regulate, Tsacheva said.

Kristalina Georgieva, European Commission Vice President
responsible for Budget and Human Resources, said in a videotaped
message to the conference that Bulgaria is among the principal
beneficiaries of EU money as it is going to receive 32 billion
leva in the next seven years. Georgieva recommended to Bulgarian
mayors to train personnel, invest in capacity-building and urge
the central government to look for funding for areas where it
is most needed, such as innovation, small and medium-sized
business and support for underdeveloped regions.