site.btaPresident Radev at 2nd Summit for Democracy: Corruption Undermines State Sovereignty

President Rumen Radev said at the second Summit for Democracy that corruption is not only an abuse of public funds, but it also undermines state sovereignty and national interests, limits development opportunities and deprives citizens of security and prosperity, the President's press secretariat said on Wednesday. Radev's invitation to the forum was extended by his US counterpart Joe Biden.

This year's forum is held in a videoconference format and co-hosted by the United States, Costa Rica, Zambia, the Netherlands, and South Korea.

In his speech, Radev listed a number of risks to democratic principles and the international legal order arising from the war between Russia and Ukraine. He stressed the need for effective cooperation between democratic states, especially in the context of countering corruption.

Radev highlighted Bulgaria's leading role in the anti-corruption working group, which was established within the framework of the Year of Action announced by President Biden at the conclusion of the Summit's inaugural edition in December 2021.

The Bulgarian head of State noted the actions taken by the caretaker government in the fight against corruption, including reforming the Counter-Corruption and Illegally Acquired Assets Forfeiture Commission and ensuring a mechanism for independent investigation of crimes committed by senior prosecutors in line with the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights. He pointed out that the 48th National Assembly adopted a new law on the protection of whistle-blowers, as well as legislative changes to strengthen the administrative capacity of the European Public Prosecutor's Office operating in Bulgaria.