NEWS

The strategic priorities for the development of Bulgaria show that bipartisan consensus is needed

In this lies the new role of the presidential institution, President Rosen Plevneliev and the President of Movement for Rights and Freedoms, Ahmed Dogan, emphasised.

The Bulgaria 2020 Strategic Development Programme must be arrived at on the basis of non-partisan consensus and this is a new and very important part of the role of the presidential institution. This view was shared by President Rosen Plevneliev and the President of the Movement for Rights and Freedoms, Ahmed Dogan, meeting at 2 Dondoukov Boulevard as part of the “month of political consultations” initiated by the Head of State. There was unanimity on the need to develop a strategic document on the priorities for the development of the country to 2020, to be followed by all governments no matter what their political orientation. This document and the priorities should reflect the issues of growth and development enshrined in the European strategy, Europe 2020, President Plevneliev said.

They identified reform of the security sector as a matter of strategic importance, on which non-partisan consensus with all political forces must be sought. Consensus must be reached on policy measures on income, employment and investment promotion. “The large scale of energy intensity of the economy is a huge problem and energy efficiency should be addressed urgently,” President Plevneliev said. MRF leader Dogan said that particular attention should be paid to agricultural policy and opportunities to develop organic farming and industries related to human health care.

Problems and issues of integration of marginalized groups in society should also be addressed in the strategic consensus document. “We should not in any way to discredit the results achieved in multiculturalism and ethnic peace as the main achievement of the Bulgarian state,” the President said.

The MRF leader expressed appreciation for the role of the presidential institution in achieving non-partisan consensus on guidelines for the development of the country to 2020. "The fact that the President enters into a new role which is not clearly defined in the Constitution, pleases us greatly," Ahmed Dogan said. He said that it was essential for the President to create a consensus, areas of non-partisan agreement, co-ordination or reconsideration of the priorities of the country in the long run. “The fact that this matter is placed in the context of Strategy 2020, is a political innovation,” the MRF President said.

In response to a journalist's question, President Plevneliev said that the Consultative Council on National Security would be developed as a major platform for discussion and a mechanism to achieve political consensus and decisions within the framework of the presidential institution.