SPEECHES AND STATEMENTS

Rosen Plevneliev called on the National Assembly to promptly reconsider the decision it made to appoint chief of the State Agency for National Security

Good morning to all,

The questions I was most frequently asked today were why did I not remit the amendmants of the law on DANS and whether I knew who will be appointed as chief of this service. No, I did not know who would be nominated for this position and I did not remit the law because I strongly believe that democracy requires that each new government should be given the chance to implement its ideas, even if they do not seem to us well-grounded.

I would once again like to reiterate that although I am reluctant to be involved in making appointments and dismissals, I will insist that everyone provides well-grounded arguments in public for making appointments and shows an honest attitude to the Bulgarian people.  

Amendments in the laws are made with a clear vision and with an assessment of their long-term effects. I did not oppose the legislative decision whereby the chief of the State Agency for National Security should be elected by the National Assembly. I expected that greater publicity will be ensured, that more opportunities for debate will be provided.  I expected that the personal qualities of the nominee will be elaborated on, his concept for the development of the sector will be heard, the voice of the opposition will be heard, as well as that of the civil society.

This is my position and I have always defended it.

The procedure adopted upon electing the chief of DANS has nothing to do with the commitment taken up before the Bulgarian people and personally before me for ensuring transparency. It is a pity! I placed my trust in the government and called on the people to ensure that it is given 100 days to work undisturbed as is the normal practice. However, after this appointment was made and given the way this was done, my trust has been lost. I cannot agree that it is normal that the election of the chief of one of the most important services in the state which has assumed the responsibility to counteract organized crime be discussed and done in a mere 15 minutes without any debates, without providing reasons, without any conception, without anything. This is inadmissible. This appointment has long-lasting negative consequences for Bulgaria. It gives no hope for a change for the betterment of the security sector. The chief of DANS is one of the most important appointments in the state. He must be a person enjoying a high reputation and prestige, whom the Bulgarians must trust because he has been entrusted with ensuring security. He must be a well-known man and trusted by the professional circles because this is a very conservative system. Organized crime and terrorism are trans-national. No state can effectively counteract them alone. If the chief of DANS is not trusted by the international partners, we will remain in isolation and will not be able to efficiently fight the threats the nation is facing.

I cannot agree that the only approach we can adopt upon debating these issues is political and we should not listen to the opinions voiced by the professionals and partners. I have always defended the firm position that in order to make sure that the institutions work in a given state, they should have a professional expert leadership. The most illuminating example is set by the services which are entitled to defend national security.  

We owe the Bulgarian public an open and motivated approach to any action we take. This approach was not adopted today and I cannot supoport such a model of decision making.  

I insist that the National Assembly promptly reconsiders the decision it made. I convene a Consultative Council for National Security on 20 June, Thursday, at 9.00 a.m, at which I expect the political forces and leaders, including the prime minister, to defend their general conception for conducting reforms in the security sector and well as for the personal appointments made there.