site.btaParliament Ratifies Programme Arrangement for European Defence Agency's Cooperative Financial Mechanism

The National Assembly adopted Friday a bill on the ratification of the Programme Arrangement between the Bulgarian Defence Ministry and the ministries of defence of Belgium, Cyprus, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, Spain, the European Defence Agency (EDA) and the European Investment Bank (EIB) concerning the Cooperative Financial Mechanism programme. The arrangement was signed on behalf of Bulgaria on November 17, 2020, in Sofia.

According to the report accompanying the bill, published on the Parliament's website, the arrangement does not envisage the transfer of financial resources among the participating countries. The programme outlines specific procedures which, in order to be implemented by the Bulgarian side, require the adoption of legislative measures.

Each participating country may, at its own discretion, implement projects under this mechanism. In such cases, accounts will be set up and managed by the European Defence Agency, in accordance with the procedures laid out in the arrangement and the EDA's financial regulations.

In order to guarantee Bulgaria’s participation under these conditions, the provisions should be sanctioned by law so that they take precedence over national regulations governing the management of budgetary resources. The programme establishes specific rules for the resolution of disputes between participating states, stating that the European Defence Agency’s management board will act as the authority to resolve disputes if the parties involved are unable to reach a settlement. This constitutes a specific form of arbitration, and its decisions will be binding on the country once the document enters into force. For this reason, the programme arrangement is subject to ratification by the National Assembly, the report further states.