site.btaPresident Cuts Short National Security Council Meeting due to Absence of Quorum

Sofia, October 9 (BTA) - President Rumen Radev cut short a meeting of the Consultative Council on National Security (CCNS) on Monday due to absence of quorum and scheduled another meeting on October 17. Monday's gathering was intended to discuss legislative measures against corruption. This will also be the theme on October 17, Radev told journalists.

Before the adjournment, Monday's forum heard out reports by the leaders of key institutions engaged in the fight against corruption. Radev told the press that an in-depth debate began but was soon halted due to the absence or the early leaving of some CCNS members who had international appointments on their agenda, although they had confirmed their participation in the CCNS forum.

The President said: "The seriousness of the problem of corruption is evidenced by numerous scandals in the media, the decline in foreign investment, Bulgaria's unenviable place in many prestigious international rankings relating to corruption, and the recommendations and the assessments made by our European partners." He believes that high-level corruption endangers national security, because it undermines the rule of law and public confidence in the government institutions, and hampers economic development and income growth. "Directly or indirectly, corruption steals from the pocket of every Bulgarian citizen and puts her or him in a humiliating position," he said.

The President noted that a breakthrough in the fight against corruption is only possible if the anti-corruption effort becomes a priority for the politicians.

The opposition's Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) leader Kornelia Ninova blamed Monday's absence of quorum on the incumbents. According to Ninova, Prime Minister Boyko Borissov was an hour and a half late in coming to the meeting, key ministers were absent, and other key figures left early. She said: "This is how those who do not want to fight corruption go about it; they evade the responsibility of making decisions."

The government and the BSP presented two separate anti-corruption bills at the CCNS meeting, after which a discussion was held, and when it came to making a decision, the quorum failed, Ninova explained.

The opposition leader is not optimistic about finding common ground with the incumbents vis-a-vis anti-corruption legislation. During the discussion, the powerholders and the opposition disagreed on two points, Ninova said. One of them was whether the new anti-corruption authority should have investigative powers, or whether it should only be in charge of verifying declarations and imposing administrative penalties. According to the BSP, corruption is impossible to fight without investigations, indictments and convictions. The second point of contention was about who should appoint the anti-corruption body.

Volya party leader Vesselin Mareshki, who attended the CCNS meeting, told journalists: "We are witnessing a futile attempt by the corrupt political class to set up a new authority through which they will only pretend to combat corruption." Mareshki sees no point in a new body being established by the same people who have created other similar bodies and are now dissatisfied with the performance of their own creations. "It makes no sense to expect that the next body to be created by these people will work well," he argued. "Our recommendation was simply that the bodies which have already been created should be given freedom and motivation so they can work more actively."