On July 25 and 31, 2024, in the frames of Open Government Partnership Initiative (OGP) were held at the Council of Ministers. OGP is an international initiative aimed at securing concrete commitments from governments to promote transparency, empower citizens, combat corruption, and leverage new technologies to strengthen governance. Bulgaria has been a participant in this initiative since 2012. Alexander Kashumov, Executive Director of the Access to Information Programme, took part in the meetings, as AIP has been elected as a co-chair of the Coordination Council since March 2024.
The Council is co-chaired by the relevant Deputy Prime Minister and one of the three non-governmental organizations selected for this role, including AIP. The AIP has been a long-time participant in the debates and activities related to the planning and implementation of measures of the four National Action Plans for Bulgaria under the OGP Initiative.
The aip of the discussions on July 25 and 31, 2024 was to approve the final formulation of the open governance principles which will be proposed for inclusion in the updated strategic planning methodology and in the draft Law on Strategic Planning.
Bulgaria’s Fourth National Action Plan for participation in the Open Government Partnership was finalized in early 2022 and officially adopted on July 21, 2022.
AIP assumed its mandate as co-chair of the council in March 2024, taking over from the Bulgarian Institute for Legal Initiatives. The chairmanship is organized on a rotating basis, with each term lasting eight months.
The previous meeting on the initiative was held on May 10, 2024, focusing on the presentation of Measure No. 1 – "Concept Framework for Open Governance" from the Fourth National Action Plan, and setting the goals and tasks for the team responsible for implementing the measure.