English translation of an interview of the lawyer Ognyan Stoichkov, Chairman of the Parliamentary Commission of Education, Science and Issues of Children, Youth and Sport , on the draft bill on BAS submitted on 25 November 2010 to the National Assembly by the PM from the ruling party CEDB, R. Stoilov, President of the Bulgaria Sambo Federation

the Bulgarian National Television, December 1, 2010, in Bulgaria (the middle of the record)

Question of the journalist:
What is your personal opinion, how BAS should be transformed?

Ognyan Stoichkov:
Nothing of what is written as text in the proposed bill I do not share. Since, as I said, from the opinions received from the ministers themselves, they do not understand what will happen with BAS. We are talking about scientific institutes. Bulgarian Academy of Sciences is a living organism, composed of its research institutes. In this living organism, if you cut off the limbs, the living organism ceases to exist.

The opinion that I received after the session of the Commission from the Minister of Regional Development, who is principal of the state property, is quite disturbing. He was supposed to give expert opinion on this state property and the status of the research institutes. In his letter he says that the research institutes henceforth cease to be scientific organizations, and become institutions under the State Property Act, i.e., government offices. A scientist, who becomes part of the executive power, ceases to be a scientist. In the best case he will be an expert at the corresponding Directorate, which will put in the required form management decisions. But this is not science.

...

Question:
And only one word, is it necessary to reform or not BAS at this stage?

Ognyan Stoichkov:
Undoubtedly it is necessary, but not in this direction. Because indeed BAS is currently at a crossroads, but this bill does not lead it in the right track, it rather crashes BAS.