site.btaMeeting with President Plevneliev, ABV Party Calls for Real Actions in Anti-Corruption Legislation

Meeting with President Plevneliev, ABV Party Calls for Real Actions in Anti-Corruption Legislation

Sofia, February 29 (BTA) - President Rosen Plevneliev met with representatives of the ABV party on Monday, starting his annual initiative known as "a month of political consultations" to discuss the priorities of the current year with the parliamentary parties. Emerging from the meeting, ABV Deputy Chairman Roumen Petkov called for real actions in the field of anti-corruption legislation in order to meet public expectations. The ABV has not seen written proposals in this area, which confirms the impression that Deputy Prime Minister Meglena Kuneva and her team are not ready with concrete texts, Petkov said.

"The lack of anti-corruption legislation will show the Bulgarian citizens yet again that there is no political will and capacity to take necessary actions for an effective fight against corruption, including high-level corruption," he said.

President Plevneliev said the partners in the government coalition should observe the principle of dialogue in drafting anti-corruption legislation and carrying on with the judicial reform, the President's Press Secretariat reported. According to the press release, the meeting focused on the reforms in the judicial system, the security sector, education, healthcare and the pension system.

The ABV said that unpredictability and non-transparency have created tensions in the security sector and have demotivated its employees. The party urged an increase in the budgets of the special services so they can perform their functions effectively in a complicated security environment.

The sides concurred on the need to improve the interoperability of the Bulgarian military with the NATO partners by acquiring new capabilities and stepping up the modernization and re-armament of the Bulgarian Armed Forces, including by acquiring a multi-role platform for the Air Force. They exchanged opinions on future amendments to the Armed Forces Reserve Act and the possible introduction of basic military training for civilians.

The ABV updated Plevneliev on its ideas about constitutional amendments concerning the election of the President. The party believes that there should be no requirement for the next President to have been born in Bulgaria, to hold Bulgarian citizenship and to have stayed in the country over the last five years, ABV Deputy Floor Leader Mariana Todorova said. The proposal is based on the understanding that Bulgarians living abroad should be allowed to take part in Bulgarian politics and the criteria for electing the President should be the same as those for electing the members of Parliament. The party also insists that the President should have the right to initiate referendums directly without having to obtain Parliament's approval. It called for new mechanisms for overriding the presidential veto, which is currently too easy to overturn.

Plevneliev and the ABV representatives agreed that Bulgaria needs more direct democracy.

The ABV expects President Plevneliev to support its proposal to restore the legislative council under the Parliament Speaker and to back a massive campaign in favour of Irina Bokova's bid for Secretary General of the United Nations. Plevneliev expressed his support for Bokova's nomination.

Plevneliev and the ABV further looked at Bulgaria's foreign policy, with a focus on relations with the neighbouring countries, the President's Press Secretariat said.