"In my opinion, the ruling party, regardless of the percentage by which they won the elections, has a commitment to ensure space for the opposition. Currently, this is the only place where a different point of view can be heard from that of the ruling party," stated Toma Bikov from GERB–SDS regarding the proposals by "Progressive Bulgaria" for changes to the Rules of Organization and Procedure of the National Assembly.

According to him, the draft amendment outlines two trends that, from the perspective of GERB–SDS, are seriously worrying. The first is the severe restriction of parliamentary control under conditions of a full majority, which according to Bikov is "unnecessary and even dangerous". The second is the shortening of a number of procedures in the legislative process, which, in his estimation, carries the risk of the parliament being reduced to "Mr. Radev's rubber stamp".

"I have heard him call the parliament a rubber stamp, but with these rules, practically, this approach becomes official," the MP further commented, referring to previous statements by Prime Minister Rumen Radev in his capacity as president.

Toma Bikov expressed hope that the ruling majority would reconsider some of the ideas. "We hope our colleagues from 'Progressive Bulgaria' will rethink these ideas; the parliament is neither a Komsomol meeting nor a barracks, so as to have such an approach towards the opposition, and that a consensus will be found, because until now a huge part of the National Assembly's rules have been adopted by consensus," he pointed out.

"Our approach has always been to preserve as much space as possible for the opposition, because we were in power for a large part of these years," added Bikov, as quoted by BTA.

When asked if the Rules should remain in their current form, he emphasized that for GERB–SDS, it is key that parliamentary control is not restricted and that mechanisms are not created that would allow ministers to avoid answering questions from members of parliament. "I think that Radev, in his capacity as president, consistently appealed in this direction and we expected, as Prime Minister, for him to continue," the MP noted.

Regarding the proposals of Finance Minister Galab Donev for this year's budget, Bikov clarified that the GERB–SDS parliamentary group has already familiarized itself with the main ideas and expects written, detailed calculations and specific texts on which a constructive debate can be held.