Minister Tsvetkov Announced the Decrease in the Number of the Members of the Communications Regulation Commission
12.11.2009
At a press conference, the Minister of Transport, Information Technology and Communications Aleksandar Tsvetkov announced the upcoming changes in the Law on electronic communications (ZES) which will decrease the number of the commissioners of the Communications Regulation Commission (CRC) from 9 to 5. The proposed term for the commissioners is five years. The proposal is in line with the decision of the Council of Ministers which approved the report of the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance and Minister Tsvetkov for optimization of the structure and the term for independent regulatory bodies. The changes in ZES aim at repairing the broken model for work of the communications' regulator. For years, it had five members, assisted by qualified administration. It is an ill-founded structure in regards to the currently regulated market for communications in the country. The number of the commissioners was in the last days of the previous government without acceptable motives and financial grounds. In comparison, the model which is suggested now for ZES is common for the most part with other European countries. The main exceptions are when the market is significantly bigger than the Bulgarian or the regulatory body covers the media sector as well. Aleksandar Tsvetkov is confident that the suggested changes in the Law fully guarantee the independence of CRC. There are no changes in the quotas in comparison to the period before the increased number. The requirement for succession is also kept. The restructuring of the eight regulatory bodies in the country - CRC, the Council for Electronic Media, the Financial Supervision Commission, the Commission on Protection of Competition, the Commission of Personal Data Protection, the Commission for Protection against Discrimination, the State Energy and Water Regulatory Commission and the Commission for Public Oversight of Statutory Auditors will lead to the release of 26 positions and the annual savings for the budget will reach the amount of 1 500 000 leva. For additional information:
Emilia Philcheva, Press Centre,
Ministry of Transport, Information Technology
and Communications
Phone: + 359 2 940 94 34
E-Mail: ephilcheva@mtitc.government.bg |