The public debate on the bill for the ratification of the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence, the Istanbul Convention, organized by National Assembly President Tsveta Karayancheva, ended up as a clash of polarized opinions, with neither side showing any willingness to alter their stance.
The debate was joined by MPs, representatives of the executive, of NGOs, the principal religious denominations as well as experts. Before that, the document split parliament down the middle. GERB firmly supports the document, while the United Patriots and the Bulgarian Socialist Party are against, as is the Bulgarian Orthodox Church. The opponents of the Convention allege it will lead up to the introduction of the so-called “gender ideology” in Bulgarian legislation – the blurring the notion of “sex” by introducing a socially rather than biologically based definition, and will prepare the ground for demands for the recognition of the so-called “third sex” and same-sex marriage.
The Council of Europe has urged Bulgaria to ratify the Convention, as did EC Vice-President Frans Timmermans during his visit to Sofia on Monday.
The Ministry of Education and Science will discuss a vision for change in the education system with MPs representing various parliamentary factions, interim Education Minister Galin Tsokov told BNR. The vision is for the benefit of the next regular..
Monday will be sunny and hot. In the east there will be light to moderate northeasterly winds. Maximum temperatures will be between 33° and 38°C , in Sofia - 33°-34°C. Over the mountains, it will be sunny and there will be a breeze from the..
"There is no, and cannot be, any opposition between Dogan and me," DPS Co-Chairman Delyan Peevski stated in a release from the party's press center. He added, however, that there was an opposition and a conflict: "The conflict is Peevski versus the fat..
Sunday will be sunny and hot. There will be weak to moderate northeasterly wind. Temperatures will continue to rise and the highest..
The new Bulgarian Patriarch, Daniil, has spoken out in favour of reconciliation within the Orthodox churches. "There is a broken communion between..
The Democrats for a Strong Bulgaria (DSB) party is proposing to its partners in the We Continue the Change-Democratic Bulgaria (PP-DB) coalition that..
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