On Tuesday, the newly formed cabinet of Prime Minister Kiril Petkov convened for the first time, discussing measures to support the regions of Smolyan and Blagoevgrad that are struggling in the aftermath of severe weather. The cabinet also took on the rising energy and gas prices from January.
Meanwhile, in his first interview, the new Minister of e-governance Bozhidar Bozhanov promised that a series of paper documents would be made redundant in the coming months, including the certificate for marriage and absence of debts. He also promised the start of e-identification in six months' time, as well as an end to the queue for vehicle registration through the introduction of an online booking system.
Cabinet targets making Green Certificates compulsory for all state administration
The new government announced it would carry out a legal analysis in the next two days that should result in the introduction of compulsory Green Certificates for Covid-19, which prove vaccination, re-vaccination, negative test or antibodies, first within the Council of Ministers and then to the entire state administration.
The measure will be introduced only to the members of the public service and not to citizens being served, Mr Petkov said, adding that the administration should be treated the same way as business. He noted that Bulgaria is currently behind Tajikistan and Rwanda in vaccinations and this must change. But he also promised that unvaccinated citizens would not be deprived of services.
Bulgaria can't deny a child of a same-sex couple passport: EU Court
In a groundbreaking decision from the Court of Justice of the European Union on Tuesday, the court has ruled that a child of two Bulgarian same-sex parents who have a recognized marriage in Spain cannot be denied an identity card or a passport in Bulgaria. The child's birth certificate, drawn up by the Spanish authorities, refers to both mothers as being parents of the child and has to be recognized by the Bulgarian authorities, the court stipulates. According to the court, the Sofia Municipality refused to issue the child a passport, as its mother could not complete a form where she had to compulsorily mention the child's father. The court's full decision is available here.
A third of Bulgarian firms expect economic growth in 2022: Bulgarian Industrial Association
Nearly a third of the more than 800 enterprises surveyed by the Bulgarian Industrial Association (BIA) anticipate economic growth during the course of 2022. 42 percent of respondents believe there will be economic decline - half that of last year, BIA says in its annual survey of the business climate in Bulgaria for 2021. The most cited reasons for the spurt of optimism center on the formation of a regular cabinet with institutions focused on economic growth and prosperity. Bulgarian businesses are, however, most concerned by inflation and the prices of energy, raw materials and labor.
On Tuesday, the newly formed cabinet of Prime Minister Kiril Petkov convened for the first time, discussing measures to support the regions of Smolyan and Blagoevgrad that are struggling in the aftermath of severe weather. The cabinet also took on the rising energy and gas prices from January.
Meanwhile, in his first interview, the new Minister of e-governance Bozhidar Bozhanov promised that a series of paper documents would be made redundant in the coming months, including the certificate for marriage and absence of debts. He also promised the start of e-identification in six months' time, as well as an end to the queue for vehicle registration through the introduction of an online booking system.
