site.btaRumen Radev Addresses Summit for Democracy Hosted by US President

December 9 (BTA) - Addressing the Summit for Democracy hosted by United States President Joe Biden, Bulgarian President Rumen Radev said on Thursday, as quoted by his press secretariat: "Events in Bulgaria over the last year have proven that democracy has deep roots in Bulgarian society. Our society is vibrant and strong enough to counter corruption and authoritarianism, and the people are willing to fight for their civil rights. Our institutions have shown they are capable of conducting fair and free elections."

The Summit for Democracy (December 9-10) is a virtual international summit for leaders of government, civil society and the private sector. It is focused on challenges and opportunities facing democracies and provides a platform for leaders to announce both individual and collective commitments, reforms, and initiatives to defend democracy and human rights at home and abroad.

Radev went on to identify the challenges which Bulgaria confronted after its transition to democracy and a market economy started 32 years ago. He said that, generally, such a transition can cause powerful social upheaval. In Bulgaria, it failed to eradicate poverty, triggered emigration and unleashed rampant corruption. Radev described corruption, the concentration of media ownership and growing public apathy as manifestations of the transition conducive to a new type of authoritarian rule.

"The energy of civil society from the protests of the summer of 2020 led the nation to overthrow the compromised model of government and fuelled the emergence of new political parties which won the confidence of the public," he recalled.

He noted that corruption harms both the countries which are plundered and those that provide a haven for criminally acquired assets. He called for even more vigorous concerted efforts against corruption on an international level. As examples, he cited the European Parliament's support for the Bulgarian citizens expressed in a rule-of-law resolution last year, the US sanctions under the Magnitsky Act, and the trust which the democratic community in Bulgaria places in the European Public Prosecutor's Office when investigating corruption and fraud affecting EU money. RY/VE