The forum was organized by the parliamentary Committee on Interaction with Non-Governmental Organizations and Citizens’ Complaints together with the Public Council working with the committee. Lawmakers, experts from the Justice Ministry, the Ministry of Finance, the Bulgarian Industrial Association and NGOs took part in the discussion.

The chairperson of the Committee on Interaction with Non-Governmental Organizations and Citizens’ Complaints, Mrs. Boyka Marinska, focused on the rights given by the Constitution to the civil organizations in the country.

Deputy Justice Minister, Mrs Verginia Micheva, defined the proposed amendments as an important step towards improving the transparency and accountability, as well as the administrative burden of the non-profit legal entities. The amendments foresee non-profit legal entities’ registration at the Registry Agency and abolish the current court proceedings. The expectations related to the proposed transfer of the registration are to speed up the administrative procedures, to lower the expenses for registration and the possibility to register a non-profit legal entity electronically.

Lyuben Panov, Head of the Public Council to the Committee on Interaction with Non-Governmental Organizations and Citizens’ Complaints said that the fact of introducing the non-profit legal entities act, back in 2002, had established a solid base for the democratic development of Bulgaria. He recalled the endorsement received for the law by all political forces in parliament at the time.

According to official data, supplied by the National Statistical Institute the number of non-governmental organizations in Bulgaria amounts to 40 000. The number of people taking part goes over 2 million. Those employed in the non-government sector are 23 000 and volunteers amount to more than 95 000.