MPS Approve Changes to Bulgarian Science Academy

The Academy will now have a Board of Trustees, which will include 17 people with a four-year mandate, according to the changes adopted by MPs in the second reading. The goal of the board is to control, coordinate and support cooperation between BAS and other institutions.

Another amendment envisions that every year until April 30, the Chair of BAS will have to present an annual report for the activities of the academy.

The changes were adopted after a working group was formed to develop the new bill of the BAS. It included one MP from each parliamentary group and two representatives of the academy, as well as two representatives of the Ministry of Education, one of whom is Minister Sergey Ignatov.

The prior legislative proposal, tabled by ruling GERB party MP Rumen Stoilov under advice by the cabinet, caused a major uproar not only among researchers, but also among all other parliamentary groups - both opposition and GERB allies - over fears that if adopted it would lead to the dismantling of the Academy.