site.btaGERB-UDF, Democratic Bulgaria Reach Consent on Drafting Joint Governance Agreement

The negotiating teams of GERB-UDF and Democratic Bulgaria (DB) have reached consent on work on a draft joint governance agreement reflecting the results of the meetings held so far by sector and anti-corruption priorities and the judicial system reform measures, GERB and DB said on their Facebook pages on Friday.

Once consent on the agreement has been reached, talks can start with BSP-United Left and There Is Such a People (TISP), the two parties specified.

Meetings were also held on the sectors of the power industry, internal security and the budget. The sides discussed the development of Kozloduy N-Plant Units 7 and 8, promotion of the renewable energy sources sector, including by designation of priority areas for investments in wind power, the reforms under the Recovery and Resilience Plan, the programme for energy efficiency for households and business, the European initiative for acceleration of the production of clean technologies in Europe, etc., the sides reported. 

At the meeting on the security sector, the teams discussed the condition of the security services and the steps that must be taken to improve the security environment and public peace. The focus was on the new threats and ways to counter them. "Consent was reached on a number of key aspects, including an improvement of cybersecurity and effective way of responding to the challenges in this sphere. The system for recruitment, appraisal and career growth in the security services was discussed, too, along with the need to revise a statutory framework of primary and secondary legislation that is obsolete and does not address the current issues," the press release says further.

At the meeting on the budget, which also included representatives of BSP, TISP and the Finance Ministry, the negotiators asked the Ministry for a risk analysis for January and February. They also insist on proposals for measures to stabilize public finance, the parties pointed out.

At the beginning of this week, GERB-UDF and DB held their first round of negotiations, at which they considered the chances of achieving a broad parliamentary majority to back a Parliament-elected anti-corruption and pro-European cabinet, with ensured stability and without ad hoc majorities.