“We continue the change” proposes that the cabinet appoint heads of services – Bulgaria
The deputies from “Continuing the change” and Atanas Atanasov from “Democratic Bulgaria” propose the heads of the State Agency “National Security”, State Agency “Technical Operations” (DATO), Service “Military Intelligence” (SVR) and State Agency “Intelligence” (DAR ) to be appointed by the Council of Ministers on the proposal of the Prime Minister, instead of by presidential decree.
This is understood by legislative changes in four laws. They are reported to be “Continuing the change” and specify that the amendments “are part of the guarantees to form a minority government in case you reach a second term”. It is understood from the announcement that the changes are common with “Democratic Bulgaria”. Of the draft laws uploaded to the parliament’s website, only Atanas Atanasov is listed as an importer from the association.
One of the changes stipulates that the president will not have a role in the appointment of the chief secretary of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (now this is done on the proposal of the cabinet and by decree of the head of state), and that the National Security Service will accept the minister of defense.
The changes of the two parties also include the amendments to the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC), which provide for the elimination of the role of the prosecutor as an intermediary between the court and the police, when a ruling from the court is requested to carry out certain investigative actions.
“All the proposals are aimed at making the criminal process faster and more efficient in solving crimes and holding offenders accountable. The performance of extra-procedural actions, in the presence of sufficient data about a committed crime, but the inability to justify the urgency of the case, leads only to payment, and in many cases to the performance of an action that cannot be used with the burden of proof in the criminal trial , and often to the point of needing to repeat them,” the changes are written in the announcement.
There was a similar situation with the action for the arrest of former Prime Minister Boyko Borisov, his publicist Sevdalina Arnaudova and former Finance Minister Vladislav Goranov. Then the Ministry of Internal Affairs took urgent actions, but subsequently they were not confirmed by the court, the prosecutor’s office had to repeat some of them. In the end, prosecutors declined to seek permanent detention and to press charges.
The amendments, which expect a change in the way heads of services are chosen, aim to comply with the Constitution, according to which the Council of Ministers ensures public order and national security, as well as the sanctification of the general leadership of the state administration and the armed forces.
“We continue the change” and “Democratic Bulgaria” want guarantees that the executive power will take full political responsibility during the crisis, which threatens the national security of the country.
The proponents of the ideas specify that the project does not limit the powers and information that the president has and receives in his interaction with the services.
“For the sake of transparency and objective criteria for the selection of the chairpersons, in the parliament it is required that each appointment be preceded by the selection of the candidates in the budget line committee in
National Assembly. The legislative proposal was imposed in the context of the development of the war in Ukraine and the refugee pressure, in which the protection of national security should be the main priority of the legislation to achieve the goals laid down in Art. 24 of the Constitution”, specify in the announcement of the changes.
The amendments, which provide that the chief secretary will be appointed on the proposal of the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers, are also motivated by “following the constitutional order that the Council of Ministers implements policies on public order and national security and removes the atypical role of the presidential institution in direct influence on the organization and activity of the executive power c
the person of the Ministry of the Interior through personal appointments of the chief secretary”.
The changes also provide for the National Security Service to assist the Minister of Defense, and for the mandatory security of senior officials to be used up to one year after the next vacancy. The possibility is reserved to provide longer protection if necessary. “In order to optimize the activity of the service, its human and financial resources, it is proposed to limit the circle of the protected persons occupying positions of the presidents in the general administration of the department to the events in which they accompany the senior officials during the events representing the source of increased risk”, both parties also offer.