site.btaParliamentary Defence Committee Adopts Amendments to Defence and Armed Forces Act

The Parliamentary Defence Committee adopted Wednesday on first reading amendments to the Defence and Armed Forces Act of the Republic of Bulgaria. 

The bill, submitted by the Council of Ministers, was approved by ten votes in favour and three abstentions. Among the amendments envisaged by the text are improving the efficiency of the Defence Council by optimising its composition; providing the opportunity for postgraduate training of health care professionals (nurses, midwives, medical laboratory technicians, X-ray technicians, physician assistants, rehabilitation therapists, paramedics, etc.) at the Military Medical Academy; abolition of the requirement for annual attestation of servicemen to take into account the specifics of the military profession, etc.

Unanimously, with 13 votes in favour, the draft law was adopted.

“We are proposing an additional scholarship because the problem of recruiting prospective officers in all military universities is huge and deepens every year,” Hristo Gadzhev, the text's sponsor and chairman of the defence committee, told journalists.

According to him, the amount of the scholarship is about BGN 500, which together with other scholarships would enable the cadets to receive funds in the amount of one minimum wage. Food, utility bills and accommodation are mostly provided. This could make the profession much more attractive to young people, Gadzhev said.