GERB is against the trading of woods
Adelina Marini, May 7, 2009
Political party GERB (Citizens for the European development of Bulgaria) promised to impose immediately a moratorium over woods that have already been traded by the state against other territories. The main idea of the party is to stop the cut down of the trees and the construction work in the woods. The party also said it will inform the prosecutor's office regarding the expedience and legitimacy of the exchanges. Representatives from GERB also announced that in the days after the Parliament voted to forbid the woods trading until the publication of the legislation into the Official journal the State woods agency has signed a lot of permissions for woods trading.
But judicially GERB acknowledged that there are no violations of the laws. Nevertheless they will wait a few days to see if the prosecutor's office would do something but the only thing the prosecutors could actually do is to establish is it possible in one day the president of the State Woods Agency Stefan Yurukov to sign 47 permissions and 14 contracts. According to GERB he should be capable physically to do that without omitting some procedures which all take time.
Miroslav Naydenov, head of the expert group on agriculture in the party said that in the Agency thousands of files have been filed and it is also interesting to know how those 47 were chosen. They also presented a list of all the 47 contracts, most of which are in protected areas around the seaside.
The veto over the woods trading was imposed after mass protests of the coalition "In order to remain nature in Bulgaria" in January. GERB also promised that they will propose a legislative package that would defend state and public interests with regard to the woods.