Bulgaria's Rulers Kill Proposed Black Sea Coast Construction Ban

MPs from Bulgaria's ruling center-right party GERB have rejected a proposed moratorium on resort construction on the Bulgarian Black Sea coast.

The ban suggested by the opposition Socialists was rejected Thursday night by the MPs at the Environment Committee in the Bulgarian Parliament.

In January, the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) submitted to Parliament a draft decision for imposing a moratorium on all disposition deals and construction works on terrains of the Black Sea coast.

The Socialist party proposed that the moratorium be valid for the territories of Irakli, Karadere, Kamchiyski Pyasaci - Shkorpilovtsi, the stretch from the Durankulak Lake to Sveta Anna, Krapets, the Shabla Lake, Coral, Arkutino, Dyuni, Maslen Nos, Belite Skali, Boata, Yalata, Kaliakra, Rakitnik, and Liman.

The major share of the territory is part of the National Park Bulgarian Black Sea Coast project proposed by Bulgarian citizens and environmental organizations.

A number of Bulgarian environmental organizations proposed the creation of the Black Sea Coast Natural Park on January 15 amid a scandal involving construction on protected coastal areas.

According to Thursday's Parliamentary Committee decision made by the GERB MPs the adoption of a moratorium would be useless because there are three pieces of draft legislation in progress, which are to regulate “these matters”, the Cross news agency reported.

These are the Black Sea Coast Organization Act, the Territorial Organization Act, and the Forestry Act, whose amendments are expected to be tabled to Parliament next week.