1.Agriculture Minister: No GM Crops Will Be Grown in Bulgaria
2.Bulgaria: President May Call for National Referendum on GMOs
3.GMO Has No Chance in Bulgaria
4.Bulgaria's GMO bill envisages hefty fine for environment minister if he allows GMOs

EXTRACTS: GMOs cannot be cultivated in Bulgaria for experimental or commercial purposes this will be the real-term effect of the GMO Act that will be passed on a second reading by the Parliamentary Committee for Environment next week. (item 3)

According to experts, the introduction of buffer zones practically left no free land for planting GMO crops. (item 4)

[The Agriculture Minister] confirmed that if anyone in Bulgaria wants to apply to grow GM crops the Agriculture Ministry would have to give permission, something that he added has not and will not be done. (item 1)

"Our society perceives the release of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) as a threat to human health, Bulgarian nature and the development of organic farming," President Parvanov said in his statement. (item 2)
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1.Agriculture Minister: No GM Crops Will Be Grown in Bulgaria
Sofia News Agency, March 9 2010
http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=114011

Bulgaria Agriculture Minister, Miroslav Naydenov, has stated that Geneticaaly Modified foods will not be allowed "to reach Bulgarians' tables".

Naydenov stated Tuesday that all the European requirements will be introduced into the Bulgarian legislation, but added that the amendments to the GMO Act will also ban GM crops from being grown in the country.

"We will give sufficient guarantees to the Bulgarian society, that we will not allow the cultivation of genetically modified crops, as this is the great concern," Naydenov said.

He confirmed that if anyone in Bulgaria wants to apply to grow GM crops the Agriculture Ministry would have to give permission, something that he added has not and will not be done.
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2.Bulgaria: President May Call for National Referendum on GMOs
Sofia News Agency, March 8 2010
http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=113953

Bulgaria President Georgi Parvanov has stated that the amendments to the GMO Act should include strict safeguards to protect Bulgaria from contamination.

Parvanov outlined what he believes need to be included in the GMO Act. He confirmed with that he will veto the amendments if they are not stringent enough. He added that he may also use his right to call on the Bulgarian Parliament to hold a national referendum on the issue for or against retention of the prohibitions on release into the environment of GMOs.

"Our society perceives the release of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) as a threat to human health, Bulgarian nature and the development of organic farming." President Parvanov said in his statement.

He added that “the public expressed concerns and a principled position on the legislative framework for the use of GMOs in Bulgaria - the policy should remain conservative and restrictive, based on the principles of prudence and precaution.”
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3.GMO Has No Chance in Bulgaria
Tanya Kirkova
Standart, 6 March 2010
http://paper.standartnews.com/en/article.php?d=2010-03-06&article=32412

*The owners of cornfields polluted with GMO to be paid compensations

GMO cannot be cultivated in Bulgaria for experimental or commercial purposes this will be the real-term effect of the GMO Act that will be passed on a second reading by the Parliamentary Committee for Environment next week.

The draft bill provides a distance of at least 30 km between the GMO fields and those protected under Natura 2000 project or other natural parks. The amendment was included in the GMO draft bill under pressure from the environmental organizations in Bulgaria.

Because Bulgaria is a relatively small country, the thirty-kilometer margin between the GMO fields and the natural cornfields is virtually impossible to be kept, which means that it is practically impossible to grow GMO in Bulgaria.
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4.Bulgaria's GMO bill envisages hefty fine for environment minister
The Sofia Echo, Mar 05 2010
http://www.sofiaecho.com/2010/03/05/868434_bulgarias-gmo-bill-envisages-hefty-fine-for-environment-minister

Bulgaria's minister of environment could be fined from 300 000 to one million leva for allowing genetically modified organisms (GMOs) to be grown within the 30km restricted belt around Natura 2000 areas, according to an amendment to the GMO bill by passed by Parliament's environment committee.

The sanction, proposed by Deputy Environment minister Evdokia Maneva, had no precedent in the country's legislation, but that in itself was not an obstacle preventing such a provision, the legal affairs committee said.

Under the provision, whenever there are suspicions that the minister broke the law, the prime minister would appoint an expert committee to investigate the case and submit a report to the Supreme Administrative Court, which could then choose to impose the fine, the lawmakers decided.

The same sanction would be imposed on companies that grow GMOs in the specified areas without permission from the environment minister.

According to experts, the introduction of buffer zones practically left no free land for planting GMO crops.

After heated discussions on the ban of the cultivation and sale of genetically modified fruits, vegetables, vines, tobacco and roses, MPs decided to support it with a safeguard clause, implementing a European Commission derogation that allows EU member states to prohibit GMO crops cleared by the EC. Such was the recent case of the Amflora potatoes of Germany's BASF, approved by the EC.

Opposition MPs countered that this opens the door for cultivating gene-modified crops that have not been studied by the EC and field trials with GMOs. Parliament debates were expected to continue in the second week of March, when the bill was to be put for vote.