The Parliament adopted the report of the Ad Hoc Committee set up to examine the procedure for selecting fighter jet aircraft. The report suggests that the Ministry of Defence should revise the selection procedure and revise that gaps. The draft decision was approved by 126 MPs, 59 voted against and 4 abstained.
Following agreement with the Ministry of Finance, it is recommended that the Ministry of Defence should propose to the Council of Ministers and the National Assembly amendment to the already adopted Investment Costs Project on the Acquisition of a New Type of Fighter Jet Aircraft. The amendment should include a new financial framework for payment in order to guarantee the implementation of priorities related to the rearmament of the Bulgarian army.
The MPs also suggest that the project implementation options should be updated to take account of the bids received after the RFP issued in December 2016, including bids for new aircraft. The options should be submitted to the Parliament with the new financial framework.
The report mentions that at the end of February a bid for a new aircraft to cater for the needs of the Bulgarian Air Force was received. The bid specifications met the approved financial framework of the project, yet it was not discussed.
The National Assembly adopted the 2016 Annual Report on the National Security of the Republic of Bulgaria. 104 MPs voted in favour of the report and 96 were against. The report contains an assessment of the risks and threats to security and places emphasis on the conclusion that crime in general declined compared to 2015, while the number of solved crimes was on the rise.