site.btaUPDATED Vazrazhdane Moves Draft Resolution on Withdrawal from World Health Organization

Vazrazhdane has moved a draft resolution on Bulgaria's withdrawal from the World Health Organization (WHO), the party said on Friday. The proposed document requires the Council of Ministers to take all the necessary steps towards terminating the Basic Agreement between the Bulgarian Government and the World Health Organization for the establishment of technical advisory cooperation relations.

Vazrazhdane said that on WHO's recommendation, Bulgaria spent over BGN 145 million on vaccine doses which were discarded due to expiry. Given the huge budget deficit, this is a crime against the Bulgarians, the party added.

The measures recommended for dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic were so severe - and later proved to be unjustified - that within the first few months they caused damage worth hundreds of billions to the economies of Bulgaria and the EU. "Thousands of businesses went bankrupt and millions of Europeans paid a heavy price. The healthcare systems of EU Member States collapsed, and planned surgeries were halted, costing many lives," the party said.

"The leading role of health ministries in national policy is being undermined and is disappearing entirely. The WHO assigns tasks without prior impact assessment, which predictably further burdens national budgets and administrations. The organization imposes strict censorship on dissenting member states, while the WHO Director-General enjoys unlimited powers," Vazrazhdane commented.

Later in the day, Vazrazhdane MP Stoyan Taslakov told reporters in Parliament: "Politically, the timing is right, not least due to the change in the US presidency." He explained the mechanism for Bulgaria's withdrawal from the agreement with the WHO. "With the draft resolution of Parliament, we intend to oblige the Council of Ministers to notice Bulgaria's withdrawal from the Basic Agreement, which was ratified in 2006," he said. Taslаkov expressed hope that other parties would support the proposal.