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Head of State Rumen Radev: I Have Never Welcomed and Will not Welcome CETA

I have never welcomed and will not welcome CETA. I have never voted and will not vote for CETA. On the contrary, as Bulgarian President and guardian of the Bulgarian Constitution, I will refer the matter to the Constitutional Court because CETA requires amendments to our constitution and the Constitutional Court will have to come up with an opinion on their compliance with the law. This is what President Rumen Radev told journalists in Brussels. “What was expressed last night was a declaration which was not voted due to Poland's disapproval of Donald Tusk's re-election as President of the European Council,” the Head of State emphasized.

Rumen Radev was adamant that he does not fight lost battles and recalled that the EU made a decision about CETA way back when the Bulgarian parliament and government were granted powers. The Bulgarian government  decided to back CETA and in October 2016 the Bulgarian prime minister voted for CETA at the European Council. The Head of State further pointed out that the European Parliament also voted for the agreement.

“What I told all European leaders and European institutions after CETA became a fact was that by backing the decision already made on CETA, Bulgaria is making compromises. CETA is a great advantage for strong and sustainable economies, but is a threat for weak and fragile economies. The Bulgarian people and the Bulgarian state are making sacrifices in the name of solidarity and the EU principles,” Rumen Radev further emphasized.

As for the debate on approving the Rome declaration, Rumen Radev said that a position of the “old” EU member-states was voiced whereby they called for not slowing down their speed of development and as for the “new” member states – not abandoning them and depriving them of support in the periphery. “Both sides have their reasons to express such positions. However, we are seeking to reach a common solution, namely on the basis of European values – solidarity and unity,” the President said. He added that if the aim of the planned declaration is to become a strategic document, it should be clear and precise and avoid contradictions of the terms and definitions. “There is no way a single object can move at two speeds, the physics laws show that two objects do so,” Rumen Radev added.

At the debate the Head of State proposed a text that he discussed with the Presidents of the European Council and the European Commission. He suggested that all texts inconsistent with the EU principles of unity and solidarity be scrapped. “We should show solidarity and support the unity of the EU not only in terms of values, but also in terms of real actions to be taken, not only in words. Unity means compromises and I think Bulgaria makes a lot of compromises,” the President said. “The Bulgarian consumer also makes compromises. As you saw what happened with respect to the foods of different quality, not to say at higher prices,” the Head of State added.

The President reiterated that he insists that the cohesion policy finds a place in the strategic documents after 2020 as well, and henceforth be part of the financial framework of the EU.

The Head of State further recalled that Bulgaria is a reliable guardian of the external EU borders and does its best to protect these borders. “We allocate a considerable amount of funds in terms of percentage of our GDP to protect these borders and we do it in the name of solidarity, which should also be taken into account,” Rumen Radev further emphasized. 

In reply to a question, the President was adamant that Bulgaria should pursue such a domestic policy and take such actions so that it will be a worthy EU member state. “We have received a lot from the EU and in the last 10 years EU funding accounts for 40 per cent of all public investments. How these investments are spent is another issue and a debate should be launched on this issue in Bulgaria,” the Head of State called for. Rumen Radev further emphasized that so far the EU funds absorption has not achieved its objective of ensuring social convergence and its effect on the Bulgarians’ living standards is worth a mere 0.8 percent.

“We should pursue a much more flexible policy on EU funds, which should be oriented towards more investments, not only in infrastructure, which is important, of course, but also in the development of the human capital, education, healthcare, in ensuring the competitiveness of the SMEs and economic growth,” Rumen Radev said. The Head of State called for strengthening the rule of law, completing the reform of the judiciary and efficient fight against corruption in the field of EU funds absorption. “If we fail to ensure all these things, nobody will wait for us. Formally or informally, the leading countries will proceed at their speeds,” the President further said.