Democratic Bulgaria (DB) lawmaker Ivaylo Mirchev said his party chose to abstain during the parliamentary Defense Committee vote on the proposed deployment of up to eight US tanker aircraft at the Bezmer airbase because it believed lawmakers had not been given enough information to make an informed decision.
Speaking to reporters after the committee meeting, Mirchev explained that the party had requested additional security assessments before taking a position. “We abstained because we did not receive sufficiently strong arguments during the hearing itself,” he said.
According to Mirchev, Democratic Bulgaria asked for representatives of the Military Intelligence Service to present the risk assessment prepared for the Council of Ministers regarding the deployment. The party also proposed holding a closed committee session where Military Intelligence Director Gen. Venev could brief lawmakers on the classified findings.
“We wanted Military Intelligence, which prepared the report for the Council of Ministers, to come and present it so that members of parliament could be informed of all the risks for Bulgaria. We also requested a closed meeting where Gen. Venev could provide that information, but our proposal was rejected,” Mirchev said, explaining that the refusal ultimately led the party to abstain.
