Enlargement, Gender and Governance (EGG)
EU Framework 5, Project No: HPSE-CT-2002-00115
Work Package 4 (Executive Summary):
Implementing the Equality Acquis
BULGARIA
Nelly Videva, University of Sofia
The challenges of the transition period in Bulgaria and the process of EU accession have positively changed some basic mental and social attitudes towards the democratic principles of human rights, particularly towards the equal rights and opportunities of men and women. During numerous discussions on accession, the Bulgarian government accepted responsibility for transposing all EU directives within the acquis communautaire – including those related to the attainment of men/women’s equality. This was meant to be achieved by passing a special bill in the parliament that would proclaim and protect the principles of equal pay, equal treatment at the workplace and within the occupational social security schemes, as well as the principle of non-discrimination based on citizenship, religious beliefs, political affiliation, ethnic identity, sexual orientation, or mental/physical disabilities. But on 3 April 2002 the bill was voted down by the 39th National Assembly. At the same time, a definite political opinion was articulated that a future anti-discrimination bill would also solve the problem of gender inequality.
Between 1 January and 31July 2002 the anti-discrimination bill was drafted by the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy in very close cooperation with NGOs. The bill was approved by the Cabinet on 12 September 2002, and it passed in the parliament in 2003. The anti-discrimination bill’s main purpose is to guarantee efficient protection against discrimination, equal treatment, and equality before the law and equal opportunities to be involved in public life in Bulgaria. Although this bill is considered a very positive step, it does not efficiently arrange institutional guarantees for the equal rights and opportunities of men and women. Moreover, by articulating women’s rights on the same level as the rights of other underrepresented groups, the bill cannot cover the essentials of specific categories. Thus, there is a huge split in the bill between the implementation de jure and de facto and between transposing the bill and putting it into practice.
Тhe comparatively slow harmonization with the equality acquis - despite strong overall support for the measures required for European integration - and the type of legislature adopted that tends to avoid specific emphasis with respect to gender reflects the prevailing attitude within the Bulgarian political establishment: it is largely believed that discrimination on the basis of sex should not be prioritized. The largest ever participation of women in the present parliament and the positioning of women in charge of important ministries in the last two governments has not resulted in expected changes. The reasons for these attitudes lie in the conviction that: 1) the legislation inherited from the communist regime has been sufficiently effective to produce a situation for women that is comparable to the EU countries; 2) the difficulties created by the transition to democracy have not been gender specific and incur other priorities; 3) other areas of discrimination (e.g. with respect to the Roma, handicapped people, etc.) have been more neglected in the past in terms of both legislation and social awareness and hence need greater emphasis today. Such attitudes are shared by politicians, scientists, and the public at large.
To conclude, the newly adopted anti-discrimination bill is a positive step in the process of transposing EU directives in the Bulgarian legislation. Yet at the same time, it does not really fulfill all requirements of the EU acqius. Therefore, the promise of the Bulgarian government to harmonize our legislation with the EU directives remains unfulfilled and is a matter of prospective effort and cooperation between the institutions as well as of a future public debate.