site.btaParliamentary Health Committee Rejects Proposal for Termination of Agreement with WHO

The Parliamentary Health Committee Thursday rejected by a vote of 4-14, with two abstentions, a draft resolution requiring the Council of Ministers to take the necessary steps to terminate the Basic Agreement between the Bulgarian Government and the World Health Organization (WHO) for the establishment of technical advisory cooperation relations.

Kostadin Kostadinov MP of Vazrazhdane and a group of MPs moved for Bulgaria's withdrawal, reasoning that, given the existing health policy and prevention tools in the EU Member States, participation in the WHO does not provide added value. The proponents also cited bureaucratic burdens and inefficient spending. They argued that Bulgaria spent over BGN 145 million on vaccine doses which were discarded due to expiry.

Health Committee Chairman Kostadin Angelov said the proposal was legally inadmissible because under the Constitution, the National Assembly cannot mandate actions towards a unilateral amendment of international treaties. He said Vazrazhdane had been notified of this.

The Health Ministry believes that Bulgaria can influence the WHO reform process since it was elected to the organization's Executive Board in 2024, Health Minister Silvi Kirilov said. This is the second most important body after the World Health Assembly. Bulgaria has not been a member of the Executive Board for over 30 years, and the Health Ministry considers the country's return to this governing body a success, he said. At present, Bulgaria, Poland and Slovakia are the only EU countries with voting rights on the Executive Board. Bulgaria is actively participating in debates on reform regarding transparency and accountability in WHO's budgetary, programmatic and financial governance, the minister said.