Parliament Debates Bulgaria’s Readiness for Peacekeeping Mission in Ukraine

The National Assembly will hear Defense Minister Atanas Zapryanov and Foreign Minister Georg Georgiev regarding Bulgaria’s readiness for potential involvement in a special peacekeeping operation in Ukraine. The hearing is being held at the request of deputies from the pro-Russian "Revival" party, following the distribution of a questionnaire reportedly prepared by the United States on the country’s preparedness for such participation.

The questionnaire, which has been sent to other NATO-member states within the European Union, has drawn limited public information regarding its content and method of distribution. President Rumen Radev firmly opposed any Bulgarian military involvement in Ukraine earlier this week, a position that has been echoed by all parliamentary parties.

On Tuesday, the parliamentary group "DPS-New Beginning" (Peevski's faction) opposed adding this issue to the agenda, while five deputies from "We Continue the Change - Democratic Bulgaria" (WCC-DB) abstained from the vote. All remaining members supported the motion, allowing the hearing to proceed.

In addition to this topic, the National Assembly will also address several legislative matters, including first readings of amendments to the cybersecurity law and the law on gender equality. Lawmakers will also ratify an international treaty for acquiring secure communication equipment, which will allow newly built naval vessels to exchange tactical data securely with NATO ship and aircraft platforms.

Further decisions are expected on procedural rules for nominating key officials, such as the governor and deputy governor of the National Social Security Institute, members of the supervisory board of the Agency for Public Enterprises, members of the Supreme Judicial Council’s judicial and prosecutorial colleges from the parliamentary quota, as well as a chief inspector and inspectors for the Inspectorate of the Supreme Judicial Council.