The National Assembly began its regular session with a discussion of the first reading of amendments to the Law on Medical Institutions. Deputies rejected four proposals for a hearing, including that of "Democratic Bulgaria" on the attack on two merchant ships in the Black Sea.
The proposal provided for the hearing in parliament of Prime Minister Rumen Radev, the ministers of interior, defense and transport, as well as the chairmen of the State National Security Agency and the State Agency "Intelligence" and the director of the "Military Intelligence" Service. The request was related to the attacks on ships in Bulgaria's exclusive economic zone on October 6.
According to the proposal, the deputies were to receive information about the actions of the institutions, the reaction after the attack and the measures to protect civilian shipping. It was not included in the agenda.
Two ships were hit by drones
In the incident, one merchant ship was sunk and the other was engulfed in fire. Bulgarian rescuers pulled the sailors from the distressed vessel out of the water.
“The attack on two merchant ships in the Bulgarian economic zone is absolutely unacceptable“, said Prime Minister Rumen Radev after an extraordinary meeting with representatives of the institutions. According to him, the incident creates additional risks for shipping in the Black Sea and increases costs and insurance risks for maritime transport.
The political forces demanded answers about the reasons for the attack, the actions of the services and the protection of the Bulgarian economic zone. “Democratic Bulgaria“ insisted on an extraordinary hearing of the prime minister, the relevant ministers and the heads of the services.
The National Security Council will discuss maritime security
Against the backdrop of the rejected parliamentary hearing, President Iliana Yotova convened a meeting of the National Security Advisory Council. It will be held from 1:00 PM and will be dedicated to the current risks and threats to maritime security and Bulgaria's critical infrastructure in the context of the war in Ukraine.
Legislative proposals remained on the parliament's agenda for today, with the first item being a change to the Law on Medical Institutions. A hearing of the Minister of Interior Ivan Demerdzhiev on data on public procurement for guardrails and financing of flights by Delyan Peevski was included for the next session.
Sources: bta.bg, bntnews.bg