The Defense Committee and the Budget and Finance Committee of the Bulgarian National Assembly will discuss today the proposal of the Bulgarian cabinet to start negotiations with the USA on the acquisition of F-16 Block 70 fighter aircraft. The debates in the two parliamentary committees will be held behind closed doors, because some of the documents contain classified information. The members of the Defense Committee and the Budget and Finance Committee are expected to support the proposal which is likely to be voted at the Bulgarian National Assembly by the end of the week. The Bulgarian cabinet asked the country’s Parliament for a mandate to negotiate with the USA for the acquisition of 8 fighter jets. The Bulgarian Socialist Party and Volya already announced that they will vote against. Ataka and NFSB which are part of the ruling coalition may not support the cabinet’s proposal either. GERB are expected to receive support by the Movement for Rights and Freedoms during the voting. MRF has announced that it would vote in favor of the Euro-Atlantic partnership.