Newly-appointed Minister of Interior Veselin Vuchkov has said he is not planning to propose a new act for his institution.

“Ministry of the Interior (MoI) and its officials – above all the policemen and the firefighters are exhausted of the annual reforms. All these novelties create is tension. I am not to propose a new Act on the MoI. Continuity is to be maintained to a great extent. What is most important is to hold a quality debate in the National Assembly,” He told the Bulgarian National Radio.

Vuchkov also announced he is most likely to have three Deputy Ministers.

He explained he is still not certain whether there is to be continuity or a complete reshuffle of the political cabinet, adding his stance and that of Prime Minister Boyko Borisov were to be decisive.

At the same time Vuchkov outlined some of the issues at MoI he considers to be his top priority.

“I cannot accept that there are two units of the national police – security and criminal. I am to propose to unite them under one hat – General Directorate National Police,” he pointed out, describing structural changes as one of the first points on his agenda.

General Directorate Combating Organized Crime (GDBOP) is also to be included in MoI, he went on.

Vuchkov asserted he would be an energetic leader and is to convince the National Assembly that the Chief Secretary should be appointed by the President with a decree. However, he made clear he would continue working with the incumbent Chief Secretary, Svetlozar Lazarov. 

Naming the Chief Secretary was within the competence of the head of state until earlier in 2014, when MPs passed the new Interior Ministry Act prepared mostly by members of the socialist-liberal coalition.

The Chief Secretary and the Chairperson of the State Agency for National Security (DANS) must meet certain requirements, Vuchkov noted, adding that the selection procedure should ensure that random people do not end up at these positions.

The Minister said is not intending to remove the compensations due to policemen leaving work. He is to insist on unification of the application procedure, growth in the career, and renumeration of the specialized administration at all levels of the security system.