The President of the National Assembly Tsetska Tsacheva and members of the parliament took part in a roundtable discussion on a draft bill related to youth’s issues. The draft bill is proposed by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Science.

At the discussion’s opening Tsetska Tsacheva noticed the idea for the bill was 30 years old. She added that the country needs such law in order to get in line with the EU legislation and polices for the young. The arguments in favor of passing such law outnumber those against. She called on MPs to give their support and vote in favor of the bill. 

According to the Education, Youth and Science Minister Sergey Ignatov the subject of the future law is complicated and needs consensus. He said the adoption of such law has been discussed since the time he was student. There was always an wish to support the young on the part of the state and the municipalities. He said one of the issues creating controversy was how to define young age – up to 29, 30 or 31 years. 

The chairman of the parliamentary Education, Science, Children’s, Youth and Sports committee Ognyan Stoichkov stated also that Bulgaria needs such law, which will solve the most pressing problems of young people.

The draft bill was presented by the Deputy Minister of Education, Youth and Science Petya Evtimova. She stressed that for the first time the bill provides definitions for “youth’s organization” and “organization of young volunteers”. The draft proposes the establishment of a National Advisory Council to the Minister of Education. This new body should give opinions on draft legislative and strategic documents related to policies concerning young people.