We will not allow administrative experiments with Bulgaria’s forests and waters. The two structures have different functions and expert capacity and should not be placed under common management.
In a declaration read from the rostrum of the National Assembly, Vazrazhdane MP Krastyu Vrachev stated Vazrazhdane’s unequivocal position against the merger of the Executive Forests Agency (EFA) and the Executive Agency for Fisheries and Aquaculture (EAFA). The party is calling on the Ministry of Agriculture and Food to withdraw the proposed changes and keep the two structures independent.
Vrachev stressed that forests play a key role in protecting soils and water sources, as well as in protecting populated areas from fires and floods. He recalled the tragedy in Bogdan, Karavelovo and Slatina in 2022, as well as the scale of forest fires in Bulgaria – more than 7,000 over the past 15 years, affecting approximately 100,000 hectares.
The two agencies perform different tasks that require specific knowledge, equipment and organisation. Combating illegal logging and managing forests cannot be equated with controlling fishing, poaching and aquaculture. He also raised the question of why the head of the unified agency must necessarily have a forestry education, which limits the ability of fisheries specialists to hold the position.
Vazrazhdane is calling for the draft amendments to the Forestry Act and the draft rules of procedure for the unified agency to be withdrawn. The proposal is for the two structures to remain separate within the Ministry of Agriculture and Food, without being merged.
“If there are unnecessary administrative expenses, identify them and reduce them. If there are not enough people to carry out inspections, provide them. But do not undertake a reform without listening to the people who know this work,” Krastyu Vrachev urged.
Vazrazhdane opposes the merger and calls for open dialogue with foresters, scientists, fishermen, trade unions and local communities.