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2007 Assessment

Bulgaria: Integrity Indicators Scorecard

Bulgaria: Integrity Scorecard Report > Sub-Category: Budget Processes
Indicators		Score
37	Can the legislature provide input to the national budget?	100
38	Can citizens access the national budgetary process?	75
39	In law, is there a separate legislative committee which provides oversight of public funds?	100
40	Is the legislative committee overseeing the expenditure of public funds effective?	56

Indicator and sub-Indicator Details

Can the legislature provide input to the national budget?

37a: In law, the legislature can amend the budget.

Score:

YES

Comments:

References: The Constitution, Powers of National Assembly

37b: In practice, significant public expenditures require legislative approval.

Score:

100

$Scoring Criteria :: 100 Score Criteria: All significant government expenditures (defined as any project costing more than 1% of the total national budget), must be approved by the legislature. This includes defense and secret programs, which may be debated in closed hearings. 50 Score Criteria: Most significant government expenditures (as defined) are approved by the legislature, but some exceptions to this rule exist. This may include defense programs, an executive\'s personal budget, or other expenses. 0 Score Criteria: The legislature does not have the power to approve or disapprove large portions of the government budget, or the legislature does not exercise this power in a meaningful way.$

Comments: All major public expenditures are approved by the parliament when passing the Law on the State Budget.

References: All major public expenditures are approved by the parliament when passing the Law on the State Budget.

Peer Review Comments: All but not all public expenditures are approved by Parliament. There have been media reports and critics that say certain projects and expenditures were made without public procurments or transparency.

37c: In practice, the legislature has sufficient capacity to monitor the budget process and provide input or changes.

Score:

100

Comments: There is a permanent budgetary committee. The Web site contain a description of the committee, which consists of 26 MPs and 3 experts.

The Bulgarian parliament is dominated by the government very much in the style of the British parliament. The function of the committees is more to spot problems, rather than to elaborate legislation - the government is mainly responsible for drafting the legislation.

References: [ LINK ]

Peer Review Comments: There is a new special subcommittee in the Committee on Budget and Finance that was established just to monitor the spending of the public funds (see [ LINK ]).

Can citizens access the national budgetary process?

38a: In practice, the national budgetary process is conducted in a transparent manner in the debating stage (i.e. before final approval).

Score:

100

Comments: The adoption of this year's budget law has initiated a significant public debate concerning the salaries of teachers, the structure and character of taxes and other issues.

One problem is that the budget is, as a rule, the last law to be adopted before the Christmas break, which creates a certain time pressure in relation to the public discussion of the bill.

References: Comment regarding the 2007 budget, [ LINK ]

Peer Review Comments: Despite the time pressure during the adoption of the last budget law, there was significant public debate.

Peer Review Comments: The budget process in Bulgaria starts in February and finishes at the end of November. During this process, there are limited debates in the media on the basic budget parameters. In fact, the budget becomes public when it is introduced in Parliament. Then it's almost impossible to influence the numbers--only small changes are acceptable.

38b: In practice, citizens provide input at budget hearings.

Score:

100

Comments: Increasingly, pressure groups, interest groups, trade unions, and others play a role in the adoption of the budget law. This year, for instance, there was significant public pressure in the media to remove planned tax relief for gambling businesses.

References: [ LINK ]

Peer Review Comments: Increasingly, pressure groups, special interest groups, trade unions, etc., play a role in the adoption of the budget law. This year, for instance, there was significant public pressure in the media to remove planned tax relief for gambling. See [ LINK ], for instance.

Peer Review Comments: By the time Parliament debates the budget, it is too late for citizens to influence the dimensions of the budget, although they can testify at a committee hearing.

Peer Review Comments: Though there are some success stories, they are exceptions rather than the rule.

38c: In practice, citizens can access itemized budget allocations.

Score:

100

Comments:

References: Draft budget law, [ LINK ]

Web site of the National Assembly

Peer Review Comments: Yes they can. The problem is how clear and understandable for citizens the data are.

In law, is there a separate legislative committee which provides oversight of public funds?

39: In law, is there a separate legislative committee which provides oversight of public funds?

Score:

YES

Comments:

References: Standing Orders of Parliament. In may 2007 a subcommittee on the audit of public expenditure was set up in the Bulgarian parliament. See an interview with its chairman at [ LINK ]

Peer Review Comments: Yes, there is a special subcommittee in the Committee on Budget and Finance; it was established in 2007. [ LINK ]

The Committee of European Integration established a new subcommittee that is to supervise the spending of the European funds.

Is the legislative committee overseeing the expenditure of public funds effective?

40a: In practice, department heads regularly submit reports to this committee.

Score:

100

Comments:

References: [ LINK ]

Peer Review Comments: The committee is newly established.

40b: In practice, the committee acts in a non-partisan manner with members of opposition parties serving on the committee in an equitable fashion.

Score:

100

$Scoring Criteria :: 100 Score Criteria: The committee is comprised of legislators from both the ruling party (or parties) and opposition parties in a roughly equitable distribution. All members of the committee -- including opposition party members -- are able to fully participate in the activities of the committee and influence the committee\'s work to roughly the same extent as any other member of the committee. 50 Score Criteria: The committee is comprised of legislators from both the ruling party (or parties) and opposition parties although the ruling party has a disproportionate share of committee seats. The chairperson of the committee may be overly influential and curb other members\' ability to shape the committee's activities. 0 Score Criteria: The committee is dominated by legislators of the ruling party and/or the committee chairperson. Opposition legislators serving on the committee have in practice no way to influence the work of the committee.$

Comments:

References: [ LINK ] The committees in the bulgarian parliament reflect the composition of the chamber - there is no parity between government and opposition.

Peer Review Comments: Yes, there is such committee. Its efforts for the present are to act in an independent, nonpartisan way.

40c: In practice, this committee is protected from political interference.

Score:

100

$Scoring Criteria :: 100 Score Criteria: This committee operates independently of the political process, without incentive or pressure to render favorable judgments on politically sensitive issues. Investigations are rarely praised or criticized by political figures. 50 Score Criteria: This committee is usually independent but is sometimes influenced by negative or positive political incentives. This may include public praise or criticism by the government. 0 Score Criteria: This committee is commonly influenced by personal or political forces or incentives. This may include conflicting family relationships, professional partnerships, or other personal loyalties that ultimately influence the committee\'s behavior and decision-making. Negative incentives may include threats, harassment or other abuses of power by the government.$

Comments:

References: The committee composition reflects the clout of different parties.

Peer Review Comments: Yes, the committee includes members of Parliament and representatives of almost all parliamentary groups. See [ LINK ].

40d: In practice, when necessary, this committee initiates independent investigations into financial irregularities.

Score:

100

Comments: Other committees may carry out such functions, but they do very rarely.

References: It is a very new structure - it is difficult to draw conclusions about its overall activity.

Peer Review Comments: There is no such committee: Other institutions may carry out such functions, but rarely do.

Peer Review Comments: Yes, the committee currently discusses the reduction of parliamentary spending and closing some ineffective committees.