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The European People’s Party has amended the resolution on Bulgaria of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs LIBE of the European Parliament, initiated by Radan Kanev and Elena Yoncheva. They were rejected by vote today, and the European Parliament will vote on the resolution itself at around 5 pm How did the Bulgarian MEPs vote?
1. The UMO Ilinden text remains:
15. Condemns all incidents of incitement to hatred, discrimination and hostility against Roma, women, LGBTI persons and persons belonging to other minority groups, an issue which remains a matter of grave concern; calls on the authorities to respond vigorously in cases of hate speech, including by high-ranking politicians, to strengthen legal protection against discrimination and hate crimes and to effectively investigate and prosecute these crimes; welcomes the judicial ban on the annual neo-Nazi onion march and the launch of an investigation into the underlying organization, the BNS; Calls on the Bulgarian Government to intensify cooperation with local and international human rights monitors and to take all necessary measures to effectively protect the rights of minorities, in particular the rights to freedom of expression and association, including through the implementation of relevant decisions; the European Court of Human Rights13; calls on the Bulgarian authorities and officials to strongly condemn all acts of violence and hate speech against minorities;
Footnote 13 Decisions of January 19, 2006, United Macedonia Organization Ilinden et al. V. Bulgaria (Application No. 59491/00); October 18, 2011, United Organization of Macedonia Ilinden and others v. Bulgaria (§ 2) (appeal § 34960/04); January 11, 2018, United Macedonian Organization Ilinden and Others v. Bulgaria (№ 3) (complaint № 29496/16) and as of January 11, 2018, Yordan Ivanov and others v. Bulgaria (complaint No. 70502/13).
The following people voted to remove this text: from EPP – Kovachev, Radev, Ademov, Novakov, Maidel, Yordanov, Kanev, from EQR – Djambazki, Slabakov
For this text to remain in the resolution, that is, in support of UMO Ilinden voted: Renew Europe – Alieva-Veli, Mihailova, Kyuchyuk, of the Socialists – Hristov, Penkova, Stanishev, Yoncheva, Vitanov
2. The text calling for the ratification of the Istanbul Convention remains:
17. Takes note of the decision of the Constitutional Court of 27 July 2018 on the incompatibility of the Istanbul Convention with the Constitution of Bulgaria; regrets that this decision prevents Bulgaria from ratifying the Convention; It expresses its deep concern that the Convention continues to be publicly spoken of in a negative and distorting way under the influence of the widespread disinformation and defamation campaign that followed negative coverage of the issue by various media allegedly linked to the government and the opposition parties. ; this is even more worrying due to the participation of politicians and political parties represented in the Bulgarian parliament; Expresses concern that continued negative attitude towards the Convention further contributes to the stigmatization of vulnerable groups at risk of gender-based violence, whose situation is particularly aggravated by COVID-19 and restrictive measures across Europe , including Bulgaria, and further encourages the perpetrators; gender crimes and gives them a sense of impunity; Regrets that recent amendments to the Penal Code, which introduced stricter penalties for gender-based violence, have been insufficient to address the complexity of the problem and, above all, to prevent it; calls, therefore, on the Bulgarian authorities to intensify the prevention and fight against domestic violence, take the necessary measures to allow the ratification of the Istanbul Convention and introduce as many elements of the Convention as possible that are in line with the constitutional order from Bulgaria; at the same time, seek a broader solution to the other elements, as well as increase the number of shelters and other social services necessary to support victims of domestic violence;
They voted to delete the paragraph on the Istanbul Convention – from the PPE: Ademov, Yordanov, Kovachev, Maidel, Novakov and Radev and from the EQF: Djambazki and Slabakov.
They voted to keep the text of the Istanbul Convention – from the PPE: Kanev; from Renew Europe: Alieva-Veli, Kyuchyuk and Mihailova.
The Socialists – Hristov, Penkova, Stanishev, Vitanov and Yoncheva – abstained.
3. The proposal to eliminate the text that called for the situation of spouses and parents of the same sex and to create an appropriate legal framework that grants the same rights to all couples was not accepted:
18. Considers it necessary to eliminate discrimination against people based on their sexual orientation or gender identity, both in law and in practice in all areas; calls on the Bulgarian authorities to amend the Law on Protection against Discrimination to explicitly include gender identity as a ground for discrimination; Calls on the Bulgarian authorities to amend the current Penal Code to include hate crimes and hate speech based on sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression and gender; Calls on the Bulgarian authorities to apply the relevant jurisprudence of the Court of Justice and the European Court of Human Rights and, in this context, pay attention to the situation of same-sex spouses and parents to ensure that the right to freedom from discrimination and a factual point of view and to create an appropriate legal framework that grants equal rights to all couples;
They voted to remove the text on same-sex spouses and parents – from the PPE: Ademov, Yordanov, Maidel, Radev and from the EQF: Djambazki and Slabakov
They voted to keep the text: from EPP: Kanev, from Renew Europe: Alieva-Veli, Kyuchyuk, Mihailova; of the Board of Directors: Hristov, Penkova, Stanishev, Vitanov and Yoncheva.
Abstentions from the PPE text: Kovachev and Novakov.
4. The campaign text in Turkish was approved.
J. whereas the Venice Commission and the OSCE / ODIHR have concluded that the Bulgarian Electoral Code hinders linguistic diversity and the right to vote for citizens living abroad
Footnote: 5 Joint opinion of the Venice Commission and the OSCE / ODIHR on amendments to the Electoral Code in Bulgaria, June 19, 2017, CDL-AD (2017) 016.
To remove the campaign text in Turkish they have votedand – from the PPE: Ademov, Yordanov, Kanev, Kovachev, Maidel, Novakov, Radev and from the EQF: Djambazki and Slabakov; of the socialists: Hristov, Penkova, Stanishev, Vitanov, Yoncheva
They voted to keep the text: from Renew Europe: Alieva-Veli, Kyuchyuk, Mihailova;
5. The text continues to contain criticism of Bulgaria for the evictions of Roma in Vojvodina and the closure of some Roma settlements during the pandemic.
16. Regrets the atmosphere of hostility against Roma in some communities, especially those who have had to leave their homes following protests against their communities in various settlements; Regrets the harassment and forced eviction of Roma from their homes in the Vojvodina region; calls on the authorities to take urgent action on the situation of those affected; considers that decisive measures must be taken to improve the general housing situation of the Roma population; considers it necessary to completely eliminate the educational segregation of Roma children; calls on the authorities to end hate speech and racial discrimination against members of the Roma minority in response to COVID-19 and to stop police operations against Roma neighborhoods during the pandemic;
They voted to delete the paragraph on Voyvodinovo – from the PPE: Ademov, Yordanov, Kanev, Kovachev, Maidel, Novakov and Radev and from the EQF: Djambazki and Slabakov.
They voted to keep the text for the Roma – from Renew Europe: Alieva-Veli, Kyuchyuk and Mihailova and from the Socialists: Hristov, Penkova, Stanishev, Vitanov and Yoncheva.
6. The resolution will contain the text mentioned in the paragraph. Regarding reports of corruption:
L. whereas numerous reports of embezzlement of Union funds have been received in Bulgaria in recent years and should be investigated thoroughly; Whereas in recent months Bulgarian citizens have witnessed a large number of complaints of high-level corruption, some of which have directly affected the Prime Minister; Whereas also in recent months the international media have repeatedly covered possible links between criminal groups and state authorities in Bulgaria;
The EPP proposed that the president and his advisers get involved and that the text be modified accordingly:
L. whereas in recent months Bulgarian citizens have witnessed a large number of complaints of high-level corruption, some of which have directly affected the Prime Minister and the President of the Republic of Bulgaria; Whereas also in recent months the international media have repeatedly covered possible links between criminal groups and state authorities in Bulgaria and between foreign intelligence services and advisers to the President; welcomes, in this regard, the decision of the Bulgarian Government to expel diplomats who have allegedly carried out military espionage and collected information classified as state secret with the intention of transmitting it to a third country;
They voted in favor of the amendment – from the PPE: Ademov, Yordanov, Kovachev, Maidel, Novakov and Radev, and from the EQF: Djambazki and Slabakov.
I voted against the amendment and to retain the original text.and – from the EPP: Kanev and from the socialists: Vitanov, Hristov, Penkova, Stanishev and Yoncheva.
They abstained from the amendment They are Renew Europe: Alieva-Veli, Kyuchyuk and Mihailova.
7. The proposal to include in the text a paragraph on the advisers to the President was not accepted.:
The. Whereas in the course of the criminal proceedings initiated and carried out by the Bulgarian Special Prosecutor’s Office, the investigating officers carried out a thorough analysis of the evidence gathered (including the sound recordings) and found that two advisers to the President of Bulgaria were involved in criminal activities; Whereas, in particular, they have been accused of official misdemeanors, including the illegal possession and storage of a large number of documents classified in the Law on Protection of Classified Information and obtained illegally by the State Intelligence Agency, as well as participation in a criminal association for influence peddling, as part of criminal activity to influence a Russian citizen to obtain Bulgarian citizenship;
In support of the proposal to include this text they were – from the PPE: Ademov, Yordanov, Kovachev, Maidel, Novakov, Radev; from Renew Europe: Alieva-Veli, Kyuchyuk and Mihailova, and from EQF: Djambazki and Slabakov.
They voted against the inclusion of the text – from the EPP: Kanev, and from the Socialists: Vitanov, Hristov, Penkova, Stanishev and Yoncheva.
9. The proposal to include in the text a paragraph relating to the President was not accepted:
BGN whereas the President of Bulgaria, who has a constitutional obligation of political neutrality, has directly opposed the government, has demanded his resignation and has used the ongoing protests as a platform for his position;
In support of the proposal to include this text voted – from the PPE: Ademov, Yordanov, Kovachev, Maidel, Novakov, Radev; from Renew Europe: Alieva-Veli, Kyuchyuk and Mihailova, and from EQF: Djambazki and Slabakov.
Against the inclusion of the text they voted – from the EPP: Kanev, and from the socialists: Vitanov, Hristov, Penkova, Stanishev and Yoncheva.
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