Parliament has passed, at first reading, changes to the law on farmland ownership and use. 126 MPs voted in favor — from Progressive Bulgaria, Revival, and one each from GERB-SDS and We Continue the Change. No one voted against, while 46 MPs from GERB-SDS, the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (DPS), Democratic Bulgaria and PP abstained. Georgi Georgiev of Progressive Bulgaria put forward the changes.
The bill deals with land left over after ownership was restored to former owners — municipalities now manage this land. By December 31, 2027, it must pass to municipal councils. The point is simply to close out the restitution process. "Since the restitution process hasn't formally ended, we're proposing to give it a bit more time so we can finally declare the land reform complete," Georgiev said.
Another change closes a loophole that let people acquire land through adverse possession on what used to be farm-cooperative yards. Georgiev said that until now, anyone holding property on this land had to pay rent before they could buy it. Under the new proposal, people would have five years in which they could become owners without paying anything for using the land.
MPs also voted to keep farmland given to scientific, research-production and educational institutions as private state property, with the agriculture minister holding the owner's rights.
Under the bill, limited property rights on land from the state land fund would be valued at market rates by an independent appraiser. A rule requiring rental and lease tenders to go through two tender rounds would be scrapped.
There are also changes to the rules for pastures, meadows and grasslands. A temporary right to use such land for up to a year would be introduced, covering vacant land not used for buildings, facilities or farming.
The bill also caps how much land from the state land fund a single person can rent, aimed at making it easier for small and medium farmers to lease such land. Rental or lease contracts could not exceed 10,000 decares per person, to be confirmed by a declaration. The bill also requires the agriculture ministry to come up with a new, fairer way of calculating average rent payments. "Right now it's worked out using the highest and lowest prices, which skews the figure," Georgiev said.
During the debate, Lyuben Ivanov of Democratic Bulgaria said his group would abstain at first reading. He said the changes are far-reaching and tackle real problems that do need fixing, but the text still needs polishing. He said there should be a serious discussion between the first and second readings to bring the different interests together around a shared agreement. His Democratic Bulgaria colleague Svilen Trifonov called for a working group with all interested parties to be set up before then.
DPS also said it would not back the bill. Shendoan Halit asked whether the proposed mechanisms would even work. He pointed out that the text would allow land from the state land fund to be sold without a tender, at market prices, but only under certain conditions — and said any such change needs clear rules. He warned municipal pastures could suffer too. DPS's sharpest objections were about municipal property. Halit opposed giving the regional governor the power to step in for the municipal council: under the proposal, if a council fails to allocate land in time, the governor would decide its fate alone. "Municipal property is not state property," he said flatly.
Yavor Gechev of Progressive Bulgaria, who chairs parliament's agriculture committee, defended letting land be leased without a tender, saying the goal is longer-term use rather than tenants changing every year.
Desislava Taneva of GERB-SDS said her group would abstain at first reading. She praised the idea of finally closing the restitution process but said she could not accept a regional governor managing municipal farmland instead of the municipality itself.
Agriculture minister Plamen Abrovski said the bill tackles problems that have gone unresolved for years. He said both he and his ministry's staff believe the proposals would largely fix these issues. He also addressed the question of debtors, saying it isn't fair for farmers to pay the price because the ministry can't collect money owed to it, and honest farmers shouldn't be penalized over other people's debts. Abrovski added that he does not think municipalities should be free to do whatever they like with farmland.