“The Presidential institution will continue to be pragmatic, transparent and orientated towards the problems of society, and seek not only bipartisan consensus, but also results,” President Rosen Plevneliev told a news conference at the Coat of Arms Hall at 2 Dondoukov Boulevard to mark the first anniversary of his inauguration.The President and Vice President Margarita Popova presented to the media a report on the activities of the Presidential Administration in the past year.
President Plevneliev said that changing the image of Bulgaria required, in the first place, the completion of reform of the judiciary and the security sector and the adoption of the laws required to regulate the services in this sector – the National Intelligence Service, the National Security Service and Military Intelligence. This would mean an end to “working in the dark” and a lack of public scrutiny, the President said.
The progress that made been made in increasing transparency of the judicial system, with the introduction of clear rules and terms for competition for posts, transparency and public contests in concepts, ideas and candidates for election to membership of the Constitutional Court and as Prosecutor-General was a clear sign of the new approach to the work of the judiciary and, as head of state, he would continue to support this, President Plevneliev said.
The President emphasised that for the first time, innovation, energy efficiency and energy diversification were outlined as strategic national priorities. The results achieved in terms of stability of the energy supply are leading to new investments in the national economy, creating new jobs and enhancing the competitiveness of Bulgarian producers.
Achieving sustainable and balanced regional development will also depend on the ability of institutions to promote Bulgaria as an example of financial stability, as well as the reforms expected by the public in the water sector, administration and the development of e-government, President Plevneliev said.
He emphasised that as head of state, he would continue to work to build effective links between educational institutions and businesses, the most effective measure to achieve higher employment.
The President expects that acceptance of his own initiative, an independent Operational Programme “Science and education for smart growth” and the forthcoming implementation of the Sofia Tech Park project also would contribute to orientating Bulgaria’s production to higher added value.
President Plevneliev said that in the future the work of the Presidential institution and the activities of its committees and councils would continue to be public, and the results achieved would be made public in a report.
“We have said a resounding ‘yes’ to the voice of civil society and to the ideas of young people, and an example of this is the veto of the Forestry Act amendments,” the President said. He said that through the Presidential institution, the state would continue to stay close and listen to the voice of our compatriots abroad.
The promotion of the country as a proud member of the EU and of NATO and the defence of Bulgaria’s national interests in the new stage of EU integration would also be a focus of the work of the Presidency, he said. The President emphasised that Bulgaria would continue to support the European perspectives of the countries of the Western Balkans, on the basis of a pragmatic approach, good neighbourly relations and the defence of European values.
“So I was honest when I expressed to the European Enlargement Commissioner my disagreement with regard to section of the European Commission report on Macedonia on ‘good neighbourly relations’ and declared that the manipulation of history and Skopje’s policy of antiquisation are dangerous because they create the illusion of a great past instead of providing solutions for the future,” the President said. He said that the process of European integration is based on friendship and good neighbourly relations between countries and that this is a prerequisite for membership. “That is the reason why the development of this issue should be supervised by the European institutions and the member states of the EU,” President Plevneliev said.
In his address, the head of state outlined three major problems of our society, which will be on the agenda of the Presidency in 2013 – a deficit of justice, a lack of continuity and the demographic problem. President Plevneliev emphasised that these issues would be resolved successfully only if the will of society is taken into account, implementation is guaranteed by continuity in the activities of the executive branch and is part of the long-term development strategy of the country.
Vice President Popova told the media, “none of the decisions of the Presidential administration bears the marks of working ‘behind the curtains’ which is clear both to society and to the political elite”. “We promised and we have tried very hard to make the institution more energetic, more open and more transparent, an institution that works every day for more European unity,” the Vice President said. She highlighted the field of pardons, the granting of citizenship and asylum, saying that the manner in which the relevant committees were structured ensured transparency and clear acceptance of responsibility.