The Future Directors of Regional Structures of the Environmental Ministry May Be Suspected of Protecting Dubious Interests

In order to ensure a long-term sustainable policy for the protection of the environment and nature, the environmentalists make the following statements:
The lack of clear rules in the laws, related to the environment, regarding the heads of the regional bodies of the МЕW, places them in insecure positions, vulnerable to pressures by the political parties. These directors are appointed by means of a competition, but discharged without any motives, by order of the Minister of Environment.
The directors of the regional bodies of the МЕW are individual bodies of the executive power and their decisions are independent and - in certain cases – not subject to control by the Minister of Environment and Waters. This makes it necessary that such positions are occupied by experts, fully aware of all relevant laws and experienced in their implementation.
As long as they are appointed through a competition, their discharge should take place, based on motivated orders, and not on political or even party grounds. The discharge of an employee without motives, pursuant to art. 19а, para. 2 of the Administration Act is a structural problem of the administration at the МЕW.
This practice creates uncertainty and motives for participation in the competitions, only people, who assume that they will occupy this position for a period of one to five years, thus encouraging the corruption and lack of professionalism and .
Similar actions have so far resulted in such a situation, that these positions, even after a competition, are occupied by people, who have never worked in the state administration, not to mention the administration of the Ministry of Environment and Waters and in the first years of their professional experience they have to get acquainted with the situation and the laws, which they are supposed to implement.
The national parks Rila, Pirin and Central Balkan are the most representative Bulgarian protected territories. They are the subject matter of ongoing attacks for developing hundreds of kilometers of ski areas, wood production, public tourism in sensitive areas, such as the circus of the 7 Rila lakes, due to the constructed chairlift and – recently – intensive pasturing, because of the European subsidies. In the process of updating and application of the plans for management of these protected areas, the director plays a key role for the protection of the parks and the maintenance of their status.
The "Let the Nature Remain in Bulgaria" coalition recommends to the Minister of Environment and Waters to initiate amendments to the Environmental Protection Act, the Waters Act and the Protected Areas Act, regulating the methods of appointment and discharging and the relevant requirements regarding these positions.
The amendment to the laws, in order to eliminate the unmotivated discharging and introduce guaranteed professionalism and development opportunities in that office, at the level of territorial bodies, is mandatory in the administrations, which offer a large number of complex laws and whose actions may become reasons for penal procedures against Bulgaria by the European Commission.
The "Let the Nature Remain in Bulgaria" coalition reminds that it has been insisting since 1 August 2013, that the commissions for the competitions for the future directors should include representatives of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences and the professional organizations, in order to ensure transparency and objectivity in the personnel-related decisions. Furthermore, during the last session of the Public Council at the MEW, minister Mihaylova promised to publish the concepts, which each of the candidates is required to submit.