site.btaPM Glavchev Seeks Mandate from Parliament to Sign Security Cooperation Agreement with Ukraine, Gets Mostly Negative Response

In a letter to all parliamentary groups, caretaker Bulgarian Prime Minister Dimitar Glavchev approached the National Assembly for an express mandate to his government to sign a Security Cooperation Agreement with Ukraine considering the envisaged long-term timeframe (10 years) in the spirit of parliamentary governance, in line with the Constitution and the Constitutional Court case law, the Government Information Service reported on Wednesday.

The initial version of the Agreement on Security Cooperation between Bulgaria and Ukraine was approved by the Council of Ministers in Sofia on October 4 as a basis for negotiations. An updated draft of the Agreement was approved by a Bulgarian government decision on November 27. The agreement represents a political commitment to continued support for Ukraine, the Government Information Service said at the time. No official information has been provided by the authorities about the signing of the document.

Bulgaria's Foreign Minister Ivan Kondov and Ukrainian Ambassador Olesya Ilashchuk on Tuesday discussed the agreement. The Foreign Ministry in Sofia said the document had been finalized recently during expert consultations with Ukraine.

The PM pointed out that the agreement did not fall under the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (1969) and provided for political commitments in accordance with the resolutions passed by the National Assembly. Of the 27 EU Member States, only six: Austria, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Hungary, Malta and Slovakia, have not signed such an agreement. 

Later on Wednesday, Glavchev said in Brussels that he will sign the agreement only if he receives an approval from the National Assembly.

"I think it is normal for a caretaker cabinet and a Parliament-elected one, too, to consult the MPs about what it is doing. I don't have any concerns about the agreement, it is legally non-binding and political and does not fall within the scope of treaties subject to ratification by the National Assembly. The only thing that concerns me is the 10-year term [of the agreement]," Glavchev specified.

"We are in touch with the Ukrainian side, they said they are understanding, If the National Assembly does not adopt a resolution, I will not sign," he added. He went on to say that the agreement does not give rise to legal consequences but is of the nature of a political declaration. "It could be withdrawn by a Parliament-elected government," he said. In his word, "it won't be fatal if the signature is left for a Parliament-elected government."

Most NATO and European Union countries have concluded security cooperation agreements with Ukraine, Bulgaria's Chief of Defence, Admiral Emil Eftimov, said earlier in the day, replying to a journalist's question.

"The Security Cooperation Agreement with Ukraine has been in the works for some time, the government has been working on it since around the NATO Summit in Washington, D.C., in July," Admiral Eftimov told the press.

The parliamentary parties reacted to Glavchev's request.

GERB-UDF: "Undesirable Dynamics"

This type of proposal could hinder the current negotiations on forming a solid parliamentary majority to elect a cabinet with a four-year term and "create undesirable dynamics", GERB MP Daniel Mitov said. He called on the PM  
to withdraw this agreement, since, in his opinion, such a decision should be taken by a Parliament-elected cabinet. 

"This agreement is long overdue. It should have been signed a year ago, when other NATO and EU countries were negotiating the parameters for such agreements and signing them", Mitov elaborated.

CC-DB: "Breach of Procedure"

Continue the Change - Democratic Bulgaria (CC-DB) Co-floor Leader Nadejda Iordanova commented that the established procedure requires that the Cabinet should table a draft act of parliament before the National Assembly when the executive branch wants the legislature to pass a resolution or ratification law. "No such proposal conforming to this procedure has reached the National Assembly," Iordanova pointed out.

"The National Assembly may not pass resolutions obliging the Council of Ministers to take any action," said CC-DB Deputy Floor Leader Bozhidar Bozhanov. In his words, his parliamentary group backs the signing of such an agreement but "the point is that the Council of Ministers is not supposed to request anything of the kind [from Parliament] because such signing is within its own powers." Iordanova said that the CC-DB Parliamentary Group has sent the Prime Minister an express letter arguing that this agreement must be signed.

Vazrazhdane: "Agreement Threatens Bulgaria's Security"

The nationalist and Euro-sceptic Vazrazhdane party argued that Bulgaria should not sign the agreement because it "infringes on Bulgaria's interests, threatens its security, and anyone who signs it is subject to legal liability".

Vazrazhdane leader Kostadin Kostadinov argued that the signers of this agreement, and first and foremost Prime Minister Dimitar Glavchev, can be held liable for treason. In Kostadinov's words, Bulgaria is literally giving away its weapons and armaments. "On Monday, another shipment of missiles was sent from the Bezmer Air Base [Southeastern Bulgaria], and this country does not have any resources to acquire new ones," he said.

Kostadinov told reporters he had read the draft agreement, which lists 42 obligations that Sofia assumes to Kyiv and one obligation of Kyiv. Describing this as "an absolutely unequal document," he explained that Ukraine's only obligation is to implement unspecified reforms, and it is not clear if they concern Bulgarians in Ukraine.

The Vazrazhdane leader said Bulgaria's biggest obligation under the agreement is to keep providing military aid to Ukraine over the next ten years with no limit whatsoever.

MECh: "We Oppose Military Aid to Ukraine"

MECh (Morality, Unity, Honour) Party Chair Radostin Vasilev described Glavchev's request as a "provocation to the National Assembly, given that this Council of Ministers itself may soon be a thing of the past". 

"We have not sent a formal letter to the Council of Minister stating our position because we oppose military aid to Ukraine," the MP said further. "In Parliament, we are interested in policies that are important to Bulgarian society," he added.

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The only positive reaction to the PM's request came on Tuesday from the Movement for Rights and Freedoms - New Beginning, whose leader Delyan Peevski said that the agreement with Ukraine is "Sofia's political commitment to Kyiv and its heroic people, supporting them against Moscow's unprovoked military aggression and helping restore normal life for all Ukrainian families and their children".

Also on Tuesday, the leader of the BSP-United Left coalition said that the planned agreement "borders on a betrayal of national interests". He argued that this government has no right to bind our country to such long-term commitments that are grossly contrary to our national interests."

BSP-United Left have information that the agreement will be signed by Prime Minister Glavchev on December 19.

"By this agreement, Bulgaria assumes a 10-year commitment to provide political and economic assistance to Ukraine and social assistance to Ukrainian refugees displaced in the territory of Bulgaria, military personnel training and continued military aid," Zafirov said. "At a time when voices for peace are growing stronger around the world and, albeit reluctantly, the global geopolitical status quo has begun to accept the idea of a ceasefire, defending and advancing such an agreement is playing with fire. This is a mockery of the interests of the Bulgarian people, because once again the people are being served a policy that has been prepared abroad," he added.

Zafirov said that the Bulgarian Left will use all their strength to prevent this agreement from entering into force.

The remaining two parliamentary groups: Democracy, Rights and Freedoms - DRF and There Is Such a People, have not commented on the subject so far.