site.btaFirst Vote on Constitutional Amendments Likely before Oct. 29 Local Elections

The position of the European Commission for Democracy through Law (Venice Commission) on the bill to amend Bulgaria's Constitution is expected to be ready in early October. Immediately after, the National Assembly can hold a first-reading debate and vote on the bill, before the October 29 local elections, parliamentary Constitutional Affairs Committee Chairman Radomir Cholakov (GERB-UDF) told reporters on Tuesday. Rapporteurs from the Venice Commission will visit Bulgaria on September 14 and 15, 2023 to discuss with representatives of Bulgarian institutions the draft revisions to the Constitution, it transpired at a sitting of the Supreme Judicial Council's Plenum.

The bill was tabled in late July by GERB-UDF, Continue the Change-Democratic Bulgaria, and the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF). It envisages changes in the Supreme Judicial Council, the prosecution service, and caretaker governments.

Commenting on public figures' proposal that Bulgaria's EU and NATO membership be included in the Constitution, Cholakov said that any proposal, no matter how appropriate, diverts the talks from the main topic of judicial reform. In his words, the bill to amend the Constitution will be adopted on first reading as it is. "Proposals for changes can be made between first and second reading, but I am afraid that proposals outside of the scope will not be accepted. Since the Constitution is being amended because of the judicial reform, because of the chapter on the Judiciary, because there is criticism towards the prosecution service, the Supreme Judicial Council, the way it is formed and so on," Cholakov explained.

He put an emphasis on the importance of MPs hearing the professional community's positions on the draft constitutional amendments. "We do not have the right to voluntarily decide that, since we have 160 votes, we can do whatever we want with them. It will not be like that. We want to hear the professional community and take part in the debate as long as it is necessary to reach a consensus. This bill should be adopted with as wide a public agreement as possible. We do not intend to forcefully impose some decisions that the professional community or society will not accept," he commented.

Delyan Peevski MP of MRF commented that it is possible to add the topic of Bulgaria's EU and NATO membership in the Constitution. "We heard these calls, we will support them. We will talk with the colleagues. Bulgaria's path is clear: NATO and the European Union. We will be in favour of these proposals' inclusion in the Constitution. We think it possible and right," Peevski noted. The bill will be adopted as it is on first reading, but the proposal can be put forward before the second reading, he added.

Before the second reading, the MRF will table a proposal to reduce the Prosecutor General's mandate to five years from the current seven and to allow the person on that post only one term in office.

Nadezhda Yordanova MP of Continue the Change-Democratic Bulgaria said that the debate on the draft constitutional amendments begins now. The matter of Bulgaria's membership in the EU and NATO has its constitutional basis already, she noted. In her words, the bill should receive 160 votes in favour on first reading, and changes to it can be made only afterwards, before the second reading. The Venice Commission's position on the bill will be taken into view between the two readings.