site.btaPresident, Vice President Look Back on First Year in Office

Sofia, January 24 (BTA) - Bulgarian President Rumen Radev and Vice President Iliana Iotova gave a news conference here on Wednesday one year after taking office.

Interaction with Institutions

"The parliamentary republic is degenerating," Radev argued. "Parliament is turning into a notary's office authenticating government decisions. Public trust in Parliament is critically low," he went on to say.

"During the first year, I promulgated 86 laws and vetoed five. I exercised this right in the interest of Bulgarian citizens, guided by the conviction that these laws prejudice or do not guarantee people's rights. Four of the vetoes were overridden, and two vetoes achieved results," he said, referring to the Concessions Act and the 2018 National Health Insurance Budget Act. The head of State recalled that he approached the Constitutional Court about the ratification of the EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA).

The President is adamant that the institutions are not at war but they have "certain differences about values." "We demonstrated with Prime Minister Borissov that we can work together and moreover effectively," Radev said.

Foreign Policy

The President said that during the past months he was unswervingly guided by the principles that Bulgarian foreign policy must be shaped at home and stood up for abroad rather than the other way round.

He paid 22 visits abroad during his first year in office.

Radev stressed that he set the beginning of a normalization of relations with Russia, "which are strategically important for both Bulgaria and Europe." In his words, in the year in which we mark the 140th anniversary of the liberation from Ottoman rule, Bulgarian-Russian relations "must be taken out of the ice age" in which he found them.

"I refuse to agree that the Bulgarian Prime Minister and the German Chancellor should make public an invitation to a foreign head of State and the Bulgarian President should learn about this from the media," he noted, apparently referring to an initiative of Prime Minister Boyko Borissov, backed by Chancellor Angela Merkel, to host a meeting in March in Varna between the Presidents of the European Council, the European Commission and the European Parliament, of the one part, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, of the other.

In his words, standing up for Bulgaria's sovereignty and security, "which cannot be taken for granted," has highlighted his efforts so far.

As part of a continuity drive, Radev will organize in Rousse in May a meeting of the Presidents of the EU Council Presidency trio: Estonia, Bulgaria and Austria, as well as of Romania, which will take up the Presidency in 2019. The heads of State will focus on the Danube Strategy, which has been left out of the Bulgarian Presidency priorities.

The President declared himself in favour of Transatlantic cooperation, but also wants to see invigorated contacts with the countries of the Middle East, Asia and Africa.

Corruption

According to Radev, corruption, which obviously exists, demoralizes the whole society. He sees the Socialists' motion of no confidence against the incumbent Government as "part of the efforts that the public is making to cope with corruption." "I appreciate every effort to this end," he added.

Democratic Rights

This year, the President will focus on safeguarding Bulgarians' democratic rights. "We must stand up for our democratic rights without waiting for assistance and understanding from Europe. The indifference of Brussels should not demotivate us, it should rather make us even more zealous. This is a battle for our rights," he argued.

"Three decades after the changes, freedom of speech - a fundamental democratic right, is under a question mark. Bulgarian society must fight for this right, and this depends on the integrity and will of every owner, journalist and commentator, as well as on the will of every viewer. This is a commitment of every active citizen," Radev insisted.

Radev will be pressing for transparency of ownership, governance decisions and spending of public funds, and will encourage the public debate on the freedom of speech. "I will insist on a debate on a reform of the judicial system. There is no alternative to the implementation of e-governance, and it cannot be delayed any more, the President said. Government decentralization is essential for reducing severe regional disparities.

"The [EU Council] Presidency is not an alibi for doing nothing about pressing domestic issues. Macroeconomic performance is good, but it cannot cover up other alarming statistics. Foreign investments are at an exceedingly low level. Depopulation continues in vast areas of the country, and the demographics are disastrous. Against this background, the much touted stability sounds like marching in place."

Vice President

"People expect us to speak on their behalf," Vice President Iotova said at the news conference. In her opinion, Bulgarian citizens should be able to control the decisions taken by the Bulgarian Government together with the European partners.

The Commission on Pardons has considered 577 pardon requests, on which seven decrees on pardon have been issued, the Vice President said. She attaches exceptional importance to the establishment, during this presidency, of an electronic register in which all pardon cases can be accessed on the President's website.