Amendments to the Telecommunications Act were proposed and were released on the Transport and Communications Ministry web site. Changes have to be made because according to the European Union criteria the executive power interferes too much with the regulations of the telecom market. The amendments envisage the creation of an executive agency that will monitor the post, telecom and IT infrastructure. The fines for law violations are expected to be increased. Violations of Paragraph 11 of the Transitional and Final Provisions of the Act will carry fines of between BGN 10,000 to BGN 50,000, instead of BGN 500 to BGN 5,000. The provisions say that public telecom operators will build the ground sections of their networks through leased lines from the Bulgarian Telecommunications Company till December 31, 2002. Another proposed amendment is to transform the State Telecommunications Committee, STC, into a Committee Regulating Telecommunications, CRT. The members of the new committee will be appointed on a quota principle by the President, the Cabinet and the National Assembly. The government will appoint the CRT`s chairman. The term of office of the committee`s members will be changed from the current seven years to five years.

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