The government has approved a bill to merge the Executive Agency for Vine and Wine (IAVW) into the Bulgarian Food Safety Agency (BFSA). The change takes effect on 1 January 2027, the government press office said.
The IAVW office in Burgas will hand its property and archive to the regional food safety directorate. The same goes for its offices in Varna, Montana, Pleven, Ruse, Plovdiv, Sliven and Haskovo, eight in all.
The agency now reports to the minister of agriculture and food. BFSA will become its legal successor and take over its assets, liabilities, archives, rights and duties. The two wine testing laboratories, in Sofia and Plovdiv, will move to a specialised vine and wine unit within BFSA.
The IAVW registers will also go to BFSA, including the "Vineyard Register" information system. The bill also provides for automated data exchange with the Integrated Administration and Control System (IACS).
BFSA will complete all court, enforcement, administrative and administrative penalty cases that are already under way. Administrative acts and certificates already issued, and approved document templates, stay valid until the end of the period for which they were issued.
Staff employment will be settled under Article 87a of the Civil Servants Act and Article 123 of the Labour Code.
The government says the merger is part of an effort to streamline the state administration and make public policy more efficient. It says the bill ensures the work continues without a break and gives businesses in the vine and wine sector legal certainty.
Deputy agriculture and food minister Prof Ivan Paligorov said in late October, at a meeting of the sector council for tripartite cooperation "Agriculture and Forestry", that the reform must keep the experts, reduce risks for staff to a minimum and not halt core work. He said the changes are based on a functional analysis and combine similar tasks, improve coordination between units, bring digitalisation and cut administrative burden.
The transitional and final provisions amend three laws: the Wine and Spirits Act, the Agri-Food Chain Management Act and the Act on the Application of the EU Common Organisation of the Markets in Agricultural Products.