site.btaParliament Adopts Government-Proposed Amendments to the Interior Ministry Act, Rejects Three Bills by CC-DB MPs

The National Assembly adopted at first reading on Thursday a bill tabled by the Council of Ministers amending the Interior Ministry Act, and rejected three other bills proposed by MPs of the Continue the Change – Democratic Bulgaria (CC-DB) coalition.

The government’s bill aims to ensure the implementation of European Union legal acts. It provides for measures to apply Regulation (EU) 2021/784 on addressing the dissemination of terrorist content online. The bill designates a national competent authority within the General Directorate for Combating Organized Crime, which will supervise hosting service providers in Bulgaria and impose sanctions where necessary.

Parliament rejected a bill submitted by Bozhidar Bozhanov (CC-DB) and a group of MPs, which proposed that police salaries be calculated based on the average wage in the respective administrative region.

Another bill, also introduced by Bozhanov and co-sponsors, which would have transferred the costs of providing security for municipal company Metropolitan Sofia, the operator of Sofia’s underground train service, to the Interior Ministry’s budget, was not adopted. The proposal aimed to ease the financial burden on Sofia Municipality and ensure the sustainability of security activities.

Lawmakers further voted down a bill sponsored by Ivaylo Mirchev (CC-DB) and a group of MPs, which sought to regulate the mandatory use of body cameras by Interior Ministry officers.