Country Commitments

Bulgaria

20 September 2011
Commitments Delivered
Download the Action Plan

The rationale for the participation of the Republic of Bulgaria in the global Open Government Partnership Initiative is the experience accumulated so far in the development of relevant policies and the associated implementation measures, as well as the established good practices that we are willing to exchange with the other participating countries.

The Bulgarian government shares the open government principles of transparency, public participation, responsibility, accountability and technological innovation which underpin the European legislation. The Bulgarian legislation has been harmonized with the European acquis and strictly adheres to the publicity and transparency requirements laid down.

Bulgaria promotes good practices in applying the four principles of open government, accounts for the benefits they bring and is aware of the necessity to further develop and expand them.

We believe that the best government decisions result from using the information and knowledge available in society. It is our position that the best way of ensuring optimal government decisions and of building a participatory civil society which is actively involved in government is by presenting the policy ideas to the public at the early stage of their formulation and seeking timely feedback.

Public consultations were held to contribute to the development of the Action Plan of the Republic of Bulgaria, feedback was also collected via the specialized section of the www.strategy.bg

The Bulgarian government sees the introduction of new technologies in the government processes and in providing public services to the citizens as a key factor in further developing good governance and democracy in the country.

The Bulgarian government opted to join the Open Government Partnership and is determined to continue to report the results achieved in implementing the following priorities:

  • Effective management of the public resources;
  • Improving corporate responsibility and accountability.

These priorities reflect the current successful policy of effective management of public and natural resources, of maintaining financial stability and improving the credibility of the government and financial institutions. We consider this policy and the guarantees for its transparency and openness as a major factor contributing for the economic and political development of the country and as a pre-requisite for quickly overcoming the effects of the crisis.

WHAT HAVE WE DONE SO FAR?

In adherence with the principles of transparency and dialog in its first meeting the government took a decision to publish the minutes from all Cabinet meetings on the government web site.

This was the first government to provide free access to the legal information system of the Council of Ministers. The system contains all decisions and decrees of the Council of Ministers which in accordance with the Bulgarian legislation are not subject to mandatory publication.

The Bulgarian legislation lays down an explicit requirement for the entities drafting regulations and laws to publish the drafts and accompanying reports on the Internet site of the respective institution prior to submitting them for approval. All interested parties and the citizens have a period of at least 14 days to make proposals and express opinions on the draft.

The Republic of Bulgaria employs other good practices of open government such as:

  • Program Budgeting

 

The program budgeting approach is applied in drafting the state budget. Bulgaria is among the first 15 countries to join the global budget transparency monitoring.State agencies are required to publish annual and half-yearly program budget reports on their website.The international monitoring takes place as part of the “Ask your government!” the 6 question campaign covering 80 countries and being conducted under the International Budget Partnership Initiative. 

  • Development of e-government

A strategic and legislative framework for e-government has been put in place. The Unified portal for electronic administrative services (http://www.egov.bg),registers for operational compatibility, unified environment for exchange of e-documents have already started operation.

A civic online media “Open Parliament – The Voice of the Citizens” was launched in January 2012 covering issues relating to public life and the legislative acts. The site operates following the principles of civic journalism and promotes active public dialog.

A Public Consultations Portal has been developed where the government institutions publish the draft legislation and strategic documents subject to public consultation. Thus the public feedback can be collected at the stage of drafting the government documents. This action plan was published for discussion on the site.

  • Public Procurement Portal –centralized information system(www.aop.bg)

This site provides public access to all aspects of public procurement by applying publicity and transparency practices.

The web site of the Council of Ministers provides public access to the data base with all the concession contracts granted in Bulgaria both at national and local levels.

Access is provided to the full texts of the concession tenders and to the decisions of the Council of Ministers and the Municipal Councils relating to the concession contracts, the data on concessions granted and information regarding the execution of the contracts.

  • Access to Public Information Act 

The law regulates the right to access public information and lays down the terms and procedures for providing such information. It sets out a requirement for the administrations to publish information regarding their competences, as well as descriptions of their information records and resources. It safeguards the right of the citizens to access public information. The law was drafted by an NGO.

  • Electronic system linking the cash tellers with the National Revenue Service   aimed at improving tax collection

The legislation lays down a requirement for all cash teller machines to be linked to the NRS system. This is a strong measure against tax fraud and the gray economy.

  • Program for Better Regulation 2010-2013

With this program the government “opens its doors” to the ideas and needs of the businesses and NGOs. It is for the first time that the responsibility for ensuring a better business environment has been shared with the businesses and the nongovernmental sector.
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