Bulgarian parliament adopts amendments to Interior Ministry Act – BTA

This article is published under the cooperation agreement between Armenpress and BTA.

Bulgaria’s General Directorate for Combating Organised Crime will be empowered to order the removal of terrorist content and block access to it online under amendments to the Interior Ministry Act adopted at second reading by parliament on July 8.

The information was reported by the Bulgarian News Agency (BTA).

Under the amendments, the directorate will be required to prepare an annual report in accordance with the relevant EU regulation. The report will be published on the Interior Ministry’s website, while a separate report must be submitted to the European Commission by March 31 each year.

The Directorate for International Operational Cooperation has been designated as the single point of contact for the exchange of information between the competent law enforcement authorities of EU member states for the purposes of preventing, detecting and investigating criminal offences.

By March 1 each year, the Interior Ministry will provide the European Commission with statistical data on information exchanges carried out by the directorate with other member states during the previous calendar year.

The amendments also expand the powers of the Border Police in addressing threats posed by unmanned aerial vehicles in border areas by enabling enhanced border control and special security measures in the public areas and perimeters of airports.

“In view of the functional responsibilities of the Border Police, it is necessary for its authorities to have the legal powers to counter this type of threat by using technical means to block electronic communications services and electronic communications,” the explanatory note to the amendments states.

The Border Police will also be authorised to request information from Bulgaria’s Passenger Information Unit. The stated purpose is to prevent, investigate and detect offences related to human trafficking, irregular migration, smuggling and other border-related crimes.

The amendments further introduce the right to paid parental leave for Interior Ministry employees who are fathers or adoptive parents raising a child under the age of eight.