site.btaNational Service for Protection Vehicles to Be Transferred to President's Administration, MPs Decide at First Reading

On Thursday, Parliament adopted at first reading two bills amending the National Service for Protection Act - proposed by the Council of Ministers and by MRF - New Beginning MP Hamid Hamid and a group of MPs - and rejected draft amendments proposed by Vazrazhdane MP Zlatan Zlatanov. The Council of Ministers' bill was supported by 127 MPs, 41 were against, and 19 abstained. Hamid's bill received 117 votes in favor, 48 against, and 19 MPs abstentions. 

The amendments proposed by Zlatanov were supported by 61 MPs, 104 were against and 16 abstained.

Under the Council of Ministers' bill, National Service for Protection (NSP) vehicles will be transferred to the President's Administration. In early October, Parliament decided that the NSP would no longer provide transport for the President's administration, following a proposal by Kalin Stoyanov of MRF - New Beginning.

Hamid's bill prohibits individuals from providing personal vehicles to the NSP, as well as personal vehicles from being equipped as vehicles with special traffic privileges under the NSP Act. The NSP is a highly specialized structure that should guarantee the security and inviolability of state authorities, which is why the conditions and freedom for the professional performance of its employees' duties must be ensured by law, the sponsor states.

Vazrazhdane proposed that MPs be excluded from the group of persons protected by the NSP. In Zlatanov's words, a provision in the current law gives privileges to MPs, and these privileges are being abused.