site.btaParliament Postpones Final Vote on Decreasing Party Subsidies

107 POLITICS - PARLIAMENT - PARTY SUBSIDIES - COMMENTS

Parliament Postpones
Final Vote
on Decreasing Party Subsidies


21 June (BTA) - The chairman of the parliamentary plenary session Emil Hristov proposed Friday that the second vote on the amendments to the State Budget Act for 2019, related to the reduction of party subsidies, be dropped from the agenda. Hristov's reasoning was that no second-reading report on the texts had been received yet. A total of 185 MPs voted in favour of postponing the voting, two voted against and seven abstained.

During a first-reading debate of the provisions on Wednesday, the National Assembly reduced the state subsidies for political parties from 11 leva to 1 lev per valid vote won at the latest parliamentary elections, effective from July 1 to December 31, 2019. The revision was initiated after a team from bTV's Slavi Show revealed on May 20 that the state subsidies shared out among parties in 2018 were 6.5 million leva larger than the amount due, which translated as 13.2 leva per valid vote won at the latest parliamentary elections instead of the 11 leva fixed by the law. The Budget Committee voted on the changes at second reading on Thursday.

Postponing the second reading vote prompted reactions and comments among both the ruling parties and the opposition. National Front for the Salvation of Bulgaria (NFSB) party leader Valeri Simeonov expressed gratitude for the postponement. He also called for a meeting of the parties in the ruling coalition. NFSB is part of the power-sharing United Patriots coalition

"We took a serious look at the matter and approached the coalition partners for a postponement," Simeonov explained, adding that up to this point reactions to this issue have been too hasty and emotional. Simeonov believes the issue of party subsidies to be crucial, as "it can lead to the end of multi-party democracy in Bulgaria". Simeonov argued that the issue should be discussed in a wider format in the National Assembly by listening to all arguments and suggestions.

"Today's events are a fiasco for Prime Minister Borissov," commented Rumen Gechev, MP from the opposition Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP). "Borissov's ideas for anti-European and anti-democratic changes in the political system's financing did not materialize," Gechev added.

The question, according to the BSP, is whether this is a mere delay or an end to all discussions of the question. Gechev believes that things are looking final, as, according to him, discussions on the matter are bound to be endless.

Yordan Tsonev from the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) described the situation as "the first sign that people will actually think about it".

However, the MRF voiced dissatisfaction that some of their proposals, including the creation of a Kindergarten Construction and Repair Fund and removing VAT for science, art and school literature, were also left out of the scope of the bill. Tsonev blamed GERB's coalition partners and, addressing the United Patriots MPs, pointed out that hindering proposals that will benefit people is "political selfishness".

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The postponement in Parliament of the vote of the provisions concerning the party subsidies was commented by Prime Minister Boyko Borissov in Brussels where he attends a meeting of the European Council. Borissov described the demands of the United Patriots as "a correct reaction" and said that a meeting of the parties in the ruling coalition will be held to discuss the question of the party subsidies. "I have a duty under the coalition agreement to heed the coalition partners. The decision will be delayed by a week and my position will be for one lev per one valid vote. If the parties in the National Assembly pass a different decision, this is democracy, parliamentary republic, they can do it," Borissov said. IG/DT, ZH