Joint statement: Stop funding institutions in Bulgaria!

17.01.2023

EDF

On the 16th January 2023, EDF and a number of its allies published a statement against recent reforms in Bulgaria. The statement comes as a response to the Bulgarian government’s recently-created “Ordinance on the Quality of Social Services”, which establishes a set of minimum standards for the provision of social services and residential facilities. The statement has been endorsed by the members of the European Expert Group on the Transition from Institutional to Community-based Care (EEG).

About the “Ordinance on the Quality of Social Services”

Bulgaria presented the Ordinance on the Quality of Social Services, otherwise known as “Milestone 290”, to the European Commission as part of the EU’s Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF).

Under the RRF, EU Member States receive funding in exchange for implementing structural reforms meant to “mitigate the economic and social impact of the coronavirus pandemic and make European economies and societies more sustainable, resilient and better prepared for the challenges and opportunities of the green and digital transitions.” Following its submission to the European Commission, the ordinance has been approved.

The Ordinance has been largely condemned by organisations working on de-institutionalisation. The “minimum standards” it presents do not reflect the commitment to de-institutionalisation that the EU and Member States signed up to when they ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UN CRPD). In fact, the standards set the stage for institutionalisation becoming the norm and effectively gives the green light for EU funds to go towards such settings.

The Ordinance allows for residential settings:

Housing large numbers of people;
Shared bedrooms: no guarantee of private or safe space for residents;
Rooms designated for “group work” and;
Resident’s routine noted down and controlled.

It is in no way a standard that supports independent living and inclusion in the community, but rather the continuation of institutional care.

Our demands

EDF, as part of the EEG, calls on the European Commission to retract its approval of the Ordinance. We also call on the Bulgarian authorities to rethink their standards, in light of the country’s obligation to implement the UNCRPD, and to align their ordinance with General Comment 5, particularly by focusing on independent living and options for personal assistance.