site.btaBlack Sea Coast Development Bill Receives Six Positive and Eight Negative Opinions

Six opinions have been expressed in favour of a bill to amend and supplement the Black Sea Coast Development Act, although two of them are accompanied by recommendations, and another eight experts are firmly against the bill, National Assembly Regional Development Committee Chair Nikolai Nankov said on Wednesday, presenting the bill to the Committee members. The new legislation was submitted by MPs Kiril Petkov (Continue the Change - Democratic Bulgaria), Boyko Borissov (GERB-UDF), Hristo Ivanov (Continue the Change - Democratic Bulgaria) and Delyan Peevski (Movement for Rights and Freedoms).

Kosta Stoyanov (Vazrazhdane) said the bill seeks to ban construction in 500-metre-wide strips on four beaches along the Bulgarian Black Sea coast. He wondered how these four areas were chosen, and why the proposed provisions do not apply to the other beaches as well. He noted that none of the sponsors of the bill was present at the Committee meeting.

An explanation was suggested by Mladen Shishkov (GERB-UDF), who said on behalf of the sponsors of the amendments that those are the only beaches designated for eco-friendly tourism.

Nikolai Nankov (GERB-UDF), the Regional Development Committee Chair, said the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works has expressed a negative opinion about the bill.

Manol Genov (BSP for Bulgaria) said the dunes on the Bulgarian coast, including shifting dunes, have not been mapped, which makes the proposal to wall them off unfeasible.

According to Taner Ali (Movement for Rights and Freedoms), quite a few items in the bill need revising to remove inconsistencies.

Rossitsa Kirova (GERB-UDF) called for a working group to further elaborate the proposals to ensure consensus.

The bill says nothing about how much the government will pay to compensate the owners of the property concerned, Grozdan Karadzhov (There Is Such a People) said.

A proposal by Nankov for the sponsors to clear the bill of all discrepancies and vague parts was approved by the Regional Development Committee by 15 votes in favour.