site.btaPresident Radev Vetoes Act on Ratification of Agreements on Purchase of Eight F-16 Jet Fighters

113 POLITICS-F-16 JET FIGHTERS RATIFICATION LAW-PRESIDENT-VETO

President Radev Vetoes
Act on Ratification of Agreements on Purchase of
Eight F-16 Jet Fighters


July 23 (BTA) - President Rumen Radev has vetoed a law ratifying the four agreements on the purchase by Bulgaria of eight F-16 Block 70 aircraft that Parliament passed on July 19, Radev's press secretariat said Tuesday. The four Letters of Agreement (LOAs) are the following: LOA BU-D-SAB (F-16 Block 70 aircraft and associated support), LOA BU-D-AAA (Munitions in support of the F-16), LOA BU-P-AAD (Sidewinder AIM 9X Block II Missiles, associated material and services), and LOA BU-P-LAR (Multifunctional Information Distribution System Joint Tactical Radio System (MIDS JTRS) (5) and related support and equipment).

The press release says that Radev, who is paying a state visit to Croatia on Tuesday and Wednesday, will make a statement to the media at 6 pm local time in Sofia on July 24.

In his reasoning to the veto, Radev argued that when strategic decisions are made in respect of Bulgaria's defence and national security, these should be underpinned by "financial parameters attainable for Bulgaria" and broad consensus and support. "The sharp disputes in Parliament during the deliberations of the ratification bill, atypical of this type of bills, revealed that public consensus had neither been sought nor achieved in respect of the parameters of the agreements." Radev said.

It is extremely concerning that Bulgaria is being committed to obligations for years ahead without national consensus and confidence that the terms of the agreement are mutually acceptable, he added.

Radev noted that the Constitutional Court had emphasized that a ratification act and an international agreement subject to ratification are inextricably linked, which makes them one whole. In view of this, the act on the ratification of the agreement on the purchase of F-16 Block 70 aircraft should have gone all the way envisaged by the Constitution, i.e. adoption at two separate sittings of the National Assembly. "Instead of this, the act ratifying such a major agreement was adopted 'on the fast track'," said the President. He was referring to the ratification of 2.1 billion leva worth of contracts both on first and second reading on July 19.

The short legislative procedure left many important aspects unclear, including prices, warranties, delivery schedule, damages and compensation, Radev argued, adding that a strategic matter relating to Bulgaria's national security guarantees should not be decided in a "by-exception" procedure.

This country needs an aircraft with multifunctional capabilities, which, in addition to its features, requires the full range of weapons, accessories and personnel training. The public needs a categorical answer as to whether this is really achieved by those agreements, said the President. He said the short legislative procedure meant that objections and proposals made in plenary could not be elaborated and debated.
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