Signing of Agreement between the Republic of Bulgaria and the Portuguese Republic

On 14 December 2007 at the building of the State Commission on Information Security in Sofia, was signed Agreement on mutual protection of classified information between the Republic of Bulgaria and the Portuguese Republic.

The draft Agreement is based on the standard model of agreement on the protection of classified information, approved by the Council of Ministers, and is coordinated within the frames of the interdepartmental mechanism of conducting negotiations and signing international agreements on the protection of classified information. The Agreement is a result of direct negotiations between Bulgarian and Portuguese experts- in Sofia in 2005. The text contains definitions the basic notions; the correspondent security classification levels and the measures for protection of classified information are specified, as well as the ways of exchanging information.  Provisions are included, which define the rules for conclusion of classified contracts, the procedures of paying international visits, translation, reproduction and destruction, as well as provisions, prescribing the rules in case of a breach of security. The competent authorities of the Parties of the Agreement are defined and the mechanism of their cooperation is arranged regarding to the implementation of the Agreement.

On behalf of the Government of the Republic of Bulgaria the Agreement was signed by the Chairperson of the State Commission on Information Security- Mrs. Tsveta Markova. On behalf of the Portuguese Republic the Agreement was signed by Mr. Mario Jesus dos Santos - Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Portuguese Republic in Bulgaria.