{"id":49104,"date":"2024-01-22T11:49:53","date_gmt":"2024-01-22T10:49:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bird.bg\/?p=49104"},"modified":"2025-03-01T20:43:17","modified_gmt":"2025-03-01T19:43:17","slug":"gerb-lobbying-law-change","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bird.bg\/en\/gerb-lobbying-law-change\/","title":{"rendered":"GERB’s “Golden Amendment” returns the golden laboratories to Kapitan Andreevo"},"content":{"rendered":"

GERB is quietly trying to return private laboratories to the border<\/b>, and the Bulgarian Food Safety Agency (BFSA) has already <\/span>allowed<\/span><\/a> private companies<\/b> from <\/span> the “<\/span>Taki-Maki<\/b>” circle<\/b> to carry out loading and unloading activities on <\/span>Kapitan Andreevo<\/b>.<\/span><\/p>\n

In the turmoil around the election of constitutional judges and the property <\/span>deals<\/span><\/a> related to Assen Vassilev and Daniel Lorer, another plot is developing: unnoticed, <\/span>between the first and second reading<\/b>, with <\/span>amendments<\/b><\/a> to the Agri-Food Chain Management Act, <\/span>GERB wants to return private laboratories<\/b> to the border (<\/span>bill<\/span><\/a>).<\/span><\/p>\n

This is done through Art. 51 of the normative act, which regulates the procedure for performing analysis of samples, tests and diagnostics for the purposes of official control.<\/span><\/p>\n

At the moment, these analyzes are carried out in the departments’ own laboratories. In paragraph two of the current law, it is stated that the heads of the departments under Art. 7, para. 1 designate by order the official laboratories in which analyses, tests and diagnostics of elements of the agri-food chain are carried out for the purposes of official controls in accordance with the provisions of Community law. <\/span><\/p>\n

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Working<\/a> report of the Committee on Agriculture<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

To Taki-Maki and back<\/span><\/h2>\n

It is thanks to this text that the Bulgarian Food Safety Agency (BFSA) requested that the samples of fruits and vegetables entering Bulgaria be taken only by state laboratories.<\/span><\/p>\n

Thus, mainly due to the efforts of the then Deputy Minister of Agriculture Ivan Hristanov, the multi-million and long-standing feeder of companies associated with organized crime was intercepted. Hristanov announced that he had received offers of bribes, and then threats, and he was assigned state security. <\/span><\/p>\n

The Golden Feeders<\/b> “<\/span>Taki-Maki”<\/b>” were possible because during the time of GERB’s rule, the BFSA had delegated the analysis activities to a private laboratory. Its owners turned out to be related parties to <\/span>Krasimir Kamenov – Karo<\/b> and respectively with <\/span>Christoforos Amanatidis – Taki<\/b><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Initially, the laboratory at the border belonged to <\/span> the <\/span>Interpred Eurologistician<\/span><\/a>, which was associated with Razmig Chakaryan – Ami<\/b>, then the laboratory changed its ownership and fell into the possession of “<\/span>Eurolab 2011<\/span><\/a>” – owned by <\/span>Vasil Dimitrov<\/span><\/a> – a former employee of Ami. <\/span> <\/p>\n

Many problems were found around this laboratory <\/span><\/span><\/a>. \u0421\u0432\u044a\u0440\u0437\u0430\u043d\u043e\u0441\u0442\u0442\u0430 \u043d\u0430 \u0444\u0438\u0437\u0438\u0447\u0435\u0441\u043a\u0438\u0442\u0435 \u043b\u0438\u0446\u0430, \u0443\u0447\u0430\u0441\u0442\u0432\u0430\u0449\u0438 \u0432\u044a\u0432 \u0444\u0438\u0440\u043c\u0438\u0442\u0435, \u043e\u0431\u0441\u043b\u0443\u0436\u0432\u0430\u0449\u0438 \u0440\u0430\u0437\u043b\u0438\u0447\u043d\u0438 \u0434\u0435\u0439\u043d\u043e\u0441\u0442\u0438 \u043d\u0430 \u0413\u041a\u041f\u041f \u201c <\/span>Kapitan Andreevo<\/b>” determined the hypothesis that they are all part of the circle of “<\/span>golden feeders<\/b>” of the Captain. In the war that broke out between Razmig Chakaryan – <\/span>Well,<\/b> Krasimir Kamenov \u2013 <\/span>Karo<\/b> were also presented <\/span>testimonies<\/span><\/a> that Chakaryan “operates” on the border with <\/span>Taki’s<\/b> protection.<\/span><\/p>\n

The assembly returns the private sector through the law<\/span><\/h2>\n

With a proposal of the “Sliven Brigade” in GERB – <\/span>Desislav Taneva<\/b><\/a>, <\/span>Maria Belova<\/b><\/a> and the Montana star of the party <\/span>Irena Dimova<\/b><\/a>, a change<\/b><\/a> is demanded <\/span> in Art. 51 of the Agri-Food Chain Management Act. According to Taneva and the company, <\/span>the official laboratories in which analyses, tests and diagnostics of elements of the agri-food chain are carried out for the purposes of official controls should simply be laboratories accredited according to standard EN ISO\/IEC 17025 by the Executive Agency “Bulgarian Accreditation Service” or by a national accreditation body. As a list of official laboratories, it should be published on the website of the BFSA. <\/span><\/p>\n

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A proposal by <\/span>Desislava Taneva<\/b> and her colleagues from GERB amendments have the characteristics of <\/span>lobbying legislation<\/b>, allowing importers of fruit and vegetables to choose private laboratories for their samples. Taneva is not afraid of scandals. <\/span>A video conference call<\/span><\/a> in which she called for the European Commission to hide abuses made the rounds in all major European media in 2020.<\/span><\/p>\n

Over time, it has been proven that this practice – with samples in private laboratories does not work in favor of the public interest. When the control of fruits and vegetables entering from Turkey began to be exercised by a state laboratory, the found foods with pesticides and nitrates turned out to be many times more. <\/span>In 2021. Only six tons of food were rejected due to excessive pesticide contamination. In July 2022 alone, they were already 22 tons <\/span><\/a>. <\/span><\/p>\n

It is obvious that with this proposal GERB does not work to protect the health and life of Bulgarian citizens, but in private interest. So far, the party has repeatedly shown that it is categorically <\/span>support <\/span>Ami<\/b><\/a> in the battle that the state was waging against him. Georgi Elenkov<\/strong> from Svilengrad and GERB MP <\/span>Georgi Stankov<\/b><\/a> prove GERB’s bias towards <\/span>the<\/b> <\/span>“Taki-Maki”<\/b> circle with their actions“. And an investigation by BIRD found other links leading from the owners of Ami’s companies with GERB activists.<\/span><\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the BFSA has already allowed the loading and unloading activity at the<\/span> Kapitan Andreevo<\/b> border checkpoint to be carried out again by private companies associated with the Taki-Maki circle. <\/span>We remind you<\/span><\/a> that a panel of the Supreme Administrative Court (SAC) chaired by <\/span>Judge Lyubomir Gaidov <\/b>revoked the order<\/b><\/a> of the former head of the BFSA prof. Hristo Daskalov from August 4, 2022, which ordered the physical checks and loading and unloading activities at the Kapitan Andreevo border checkpoint to be carried out only by employees of the agency. In other words, the Supreme Administrative Court revoked the order with which the State returned to the border. <\/span><\/p>\n

Lead photo: Boyko Borisov and Desislava Taneva (right)<\/span><\/p>\n

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