BULGARIA: PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEES APPROVE DEFENSE

UNCLAS SOFIA 000714 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV MARR BU SUBJECT: BULGARIA: PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEES APPROVE DEFENSE COOPERATION AGREEMENT ¶1. Six parliamentary committees overwhelmingly recommended final approval of the Defense Cooperation Agreement (DCA) between Bulgaria and the U.S. after concluding a review of the document May 18. The Committees on Defense, Foreign Policy, Legal Affairs, Internal Security, Economy, and Finance were assigned to review the agreement as part of the ratification procedure in the Bulgarian Parliament. The vote in the Foreign Policy Committee was 12-2 in favor, and in the Defense Committee 10-2 in favor. As expected, MPs from the extreme nationalistic group Ataka opposed the agreement, signed April 28 by Foreign Minister Kalfin and the Secretary of State, but their criticism was dismissed by the majority. ¶2. The law for ratification of the DCA could be approved in a plenary session of parliament as early as May 31 and will be followed by a Presidential decree for its publication in the State Gazette. We expect the bill to pass easily when it comes to a vote in the full parliament. BEYRLE