Draft law promotes free software in Bulgaria

A draft law, currently discussed in parliament in Bulgaria, will oblige all
governmental institutions to use free software and open formats with their
computer information systems within 2 years. The law addresses all state
bodies, mayors of municipalities and regions, higher schools, medical
establishments, non-profit legal entities as well as other bodies and
entities that receive governmental funding. A permit of exception from this
obligation can only be procured on a case-by-case basis, if no free
software is available for a specific purpose.

In the Bulgarian definition, free software must allow for:

– Unlimited use of the software for all purposes;
– Unlimited access to the source code;
– Comprehensive check of its mechanisms of operation;
– Use of internal mechanisms and of any arbitrary part of it, so that it
can be adapted to the needs of the user;
– Production and public distribution of its copies;
– Modification and free distribution of changes as well as of the newly
designed software under the same conditions as those of the original.

If adopted, the law would bring about a remarkable change of policy. Only a
year ago, Minister of the State Administration Dimitar Kalchev triumphantly
announced a new contract with Microsoft for the provision of software to
the state administration. In total, in 3 years Bulgaria would have to pay
USD 8,400,000 (EUR 7,862,245) to Microsoft.

Press release ‘The contract with Microsoft is one of the most advantageous
contracts sealed in the country’ (14.06.2002)
http://www.government.bg/English/Priorities/Administration/2002-06-14/671.html

A copy of the draft law is available through Veni Markovski – veni at veni.com.