NEWS

Rumen Radev at the Summit for Democracy: Corruption Undermines State Sovereignty, Limits the Capacity to Advance the National Interests and Deprives the Citizens of Their Security and Prosperity

Corruption is not only a matter of abusing public resources. It undermines state sovereignty, limits the capacity to advance the national interests and deprives the citizens of their security and prosperity, President Rumen Radev said during the second Summit for Democracy. The forum is being held in a videoconference format and the Bulgarian head of State has been invited to participate by US President Joseph Biden. This year's event is co-hosted by the United States, Costa Rica, the Netherlands, the Republic of Korea, and the Republic of Zambia.

In his national statement, Radev highlighted a number of risks to democratic principles and the international legal order arising from the war of the Russian Federation aginst Ukraine. The war threatens vitally important social and economic priorities and our national security, the Bulgarian President added and stressed the need for effective cooperation between democratic states, especially in the fight against corruption.

Rumen Radev highlighted Bulgaria's leading role in a Democracy Cohort, focused on the role of anti-corruption policies, which was established within the framework of the Year of Action proclaimed by US President Biden at the closing of the first Summit for Democracy in December 2021.

The actions taken by the caretaker government in the fight against corruption and the legislative changes prepared, including important anti-corruption measures such as reforming the national anti-corruption agency and providing a mechanism for independent investigation of crimes, committed by senior prosecutors in line with the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights, were also noted by the President. The head of State pointed out that Bulgarian Parliament adopted a new law for protection of whistle-blowers and voted amendments to the Civil Procedure Code and to the Law on Mediation, which will strengthen the administrative capacity of the European Public Prosecutors’ Office acting in Bulgaria and will advance the use of modern technologies in the judiciary.

Invitations to participate in the second Summit for Democracy have been sent to some 120 countries and organisations. The leadership segment of the forum is held in five thematic plenary sessions, which will start after brief addresses by the co-host countries. The summit concludes with the adoption of a declaration. Bulgaria endorses the declaration with reservation regarding paragraph "Eight":