site.btaLeader of Opposition Bulgarian Socialist Party Notifies European Institutions, Ambassadors about Cut State Subsidy to Political Parties in Bulgaria

July 6 (BTA) - The Chairperson of the opposition
Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP), Kornelia Ninova, has sent a
letter to European institutions and diplomats in Bulgaria about
the cut amount of the state subsidy paid to political
formations, BSP said in a press release Saturday.

The letter was sent to the European Commission, OSCE, PACE, the
Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in
 the European Parliament, and the ambassadors of EU member
states and the United States in Bulgaria.

On July 4 Bulgaria's Parliament cut the state subsidy for
political parties from 11 leva to 1 lev per valid vote won at
the latest parliamentary elections, as proposed by the
government. This was done at the second reading of amendments to
 the 2019 State Budget Act. The State Budget Act amendments,
which entail revisions to the Political Parties Act, further
stipulate that political parties will be able to receive
donations not only from natural persons but also from juristic
persons and sole traders. This gives the parties an additional
opportunity to raise funding for their activities, making up for
 the reduction of the subsidies.

In the letter Ninova argues that the reduced subsidy and the
opportunity for donations from legal entities "change
fundamentally the conditions of the functioning of the
democratic political system in Bulgaria". "Politics is being
made into a function of private interests, in respect of which
there is no guarantee that they will represent the public
interest. Ultimately, the political parties will be put under
the obligation to provide services to their donors," the letter
reads.

The BSP holds that the decision on the slashed subsidy runs
counter to the European democratic practices guaranteeing
political pluralism. The letter says that the BSP feels bound by
 duty to notify the European institutions about "these
anti-democratic acts, with the hope for an answer and position
on the issue". RY/ZH
//