site.btaParliament Adopts on First Reading Two Bills on Volunteering

On Wednesday, Parliament adopted on first reading two bills on volunteering, tabled by the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) and GERB-UDF. BSP’s texts were approved with 140 votes in favour and one against. GERB-UDF’s bill was adopted with 130 votes in favour, while 29 MPs abstained.

The drafts are aimed at creating a comprehensive legal framework for volunteering in the Republic of Bulgaria as a basis for promoting civic engagement and solidarity in Bulgarian society. They also introduce a legal definition of "volunteering" in order to unify the current legal framework by providing for the explicit prohibition of volunteering as an employment substitute.

The draft bills introduce an explicit requirement that volunteering activity must be age-appropriate when the individuals are minors. In order to carry out a volunteering activity, minors and prohibited persons will need their parent/legal guardian’s written informed consent. The minimum age for long-term volunteering to be introduced is 16. The texts also envisage the establishment of a National Volunteers’ Register.