Bulgarian President Summons Security Council Over Schengen, Smuggling, 'Tapegate'

Bulgaria's President Georgi Parvanov has summoned a sitting of the Consultative National Security Council over vital matters in the sphere of home affairs on February 22.

As the Presidency announced last week, the proposed topic for the new sitting of the Council is "Current issues for the security of the Republic of Bulgaria in the context of internal security in the EU", Bulgaria's bid to join the border-free Schengen agreement, the measures to combat contraband, and the much discussed use of special surveillance devices.

The exact date of the sitting was revealed on Monday.

The underlying issues have to do with Bulgaria's expected failure to join the Schengen Area by the original deadline on March 2011 over some technical control issues on its border with Turkey, the need to fight smuggling, especially cigarette contraband, and "Tapegate", the recent scandal with leaked conversations of senior Bulgarian officials which have made scandalous revelations even though the authenticity of the tapes is yet to be confirmed.

Most of the tapes were released by the controversial Galeria weekly, which had its office blown last Thursday.

Bulgaria's Consultative National Security Council includes the President, the Parliament Chair, the Prime Minister, the Ministers of Defense, Foreign Affairs, Interior, and Finance, the head of the State National Security Agency (DANS), the Head of Defense (i.e. formerly known as the head of the general staff of the army), and the chairs of all parliamentary groups.

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