UDF wants the MPs to disclose their consulting contracts

“When closing contracts for consulting or other services bringing them incomes besides their salaries, the MPs should be obliged to submit the contracts to the Parliament’s leadership within three months so that the contracts become public while keeping the firm secret. UDF (United Democratic Forces) will officially propose such changes to the National Assembly’s Regulations,” Vanyo Sharkov, Deputy Chairman of the parliamentary group of the Blue Coalition, announced yesterday. The reason for this proposal are the widely commented consultancy contracts of MPs, such as that of Lachezar Ivanov from GERB (Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria) who earned more than BGN 120,000 in 2010.

Klassa daily contacted MPs from different parliamentary groups to comment on the idea.

“This issue is worthy of attention because in many cases consultancy contracts serve as a cover for abuse or even corruption,” said MP Yanaki Stoilov from Coalition for Bulgaria. According to him, there is good reason for the information about such contracts to be submitted to the Parliamentary Anti-Corruption, Conflict of Interests and Ethics Committee but a change in the Parliament’s Regulations is hardly necessary.

“I think that the MPs are obliged to give sufficient publicity to their engagements as consultants: in the first place - by the Natural Persons Income Tax Act, secondly - by the declarations they have to submit to the Audit Office, and thirdly - by the declarations of conflict of interests which they are obliged to fill in,” said Cetin Kazak, MP from MRF (Movement for Rights and Freedoms). According to him, given this triple commitment, there is no logic in changing the Parliament’s Regulations. The same thesis was supported by MP Yavor Notev from Ataka party who described UDF’s idea as exotic and completely populistic.

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