New Protest Against Ban on Beach Camping to Take Place in Sofia

A new protest against the ban on beach camping is expected to take place in the centre of the Bulgarian capital on Monday.

Protesters are preparing to block the key junction at Eagles' bridge with camper vans, private bTV station informs.

They are discontent with the proposed changes to the Tourism Act which introduce complete ban for setting up tents and parking camper vans at a distance of less than hundred meters away from the beach or the coast.

Following the protests, Tourism Minister Nikolina Angelkova ordered on Sunday the extension of the period for public discussion of the proposed changes by two weeks.

The initially foreseen deadline expired on March 15, but it has now been extended until March 28.

The tourism ministry highlights that these are not the final texts and if no consensus is reached on some of the proposed changes, these will be left out and not tabled for final discussion to the government and parliament.

Protesters have called on Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev to impose a veto on the proposed changes.

Pleveneliev said on Saturday that he will refer the proposed fines for camping and parking to the Constitutional Court as he deemed fines of between BGN 1000 and BGN 10 000 as unconstitutional.

We need your support so Novinite.com can keep delivering news and information about Bulgaria! Thank you!