site.btaContrasting Reactions Ensue after Bulgaria Signs Donald Trump's Peace Board Charter

Thursday's news that Bulgaria has joined the Gaza Board of Peace under the patronage of the United States and President Donald Trump met with contrasting reactions in Bulgaria. The announcement was made from Davos, Switzerland by Bulgaria's outgoing Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov, quoted by the government press service in Sofia. Zhelyazkov signed the Board of Peace charter on behalf of the country. He said the act of joining will be submitted to Parliament for ratification next week.

Foreign Minister Georg Georgiev, who is with the Prime Minister at the World Economic Forum in Davos, underlined that Bulgaria supports President Trump’s 20-point plan for achieving peace in Gaza, as well as the Gaza Plan approved by a UN Security Council resolution.

The country's joining the Board of Peace was variously described by Bulgarian politicians and organizations as "the biggest foreign policy blunder of the past two decades" and "a decisive step for the country’s future."

The Yes, Bulgaria party saw a breach of the EU's common policy. "We believe this is an inappropriate and dangerous move by a government that has already lost its credibility to make such decisions," said MP Bozhidar Bozhanov, co-chair of Yes, Bulgaria and deputy floor leader of the Continue the Change–Democratic Bulgaria (CC–DB) parliamentary group. According to Bozhanov, this move is worrying because other countries represented in the Board of Peace include those with authoritarian regimes such as Belarus – and Bulgaria should not have a place there, especially before this has been discussed and a common EU position has been taken.

MP Atanas Slavov (CC-DB), who is former justice minister, said the joint initiative for the Gaza Board of Peace aims to undermine the principles of international law and duplicate the UN's decision-making mechanism.

Assen Vassilev, chair of the Continue the Change (CC) party, commented that the CC has always maintained that Bulgaria must be strong within a strong Europe. "However, today the Bulgarian government took a step that weakened both Bulgaria and Europe, pushing us into the corner alongside the poorest country in the European Union - Hungary." Vassilev added that Bulgaria must make it clear that it is part of Europe, and together with its European partners it would determine EU decisions.

The Democrats for Strong Bulgaria (DSB) said the government decision to join President Trump's Board of Peace is "the biggest foreign policy blunder of the past two decades." Prime Minister Zhelyazkov's appearance at the signing in Davos constitutes "a direct threat to national security and a humiliation for every Bulgarian citizen," said MEP Radan Kanev, as quoted by the press office of the DSB where he is a ranking member. According to Kanev, the Board of Peace "is nothing more than a personal whim of the American President." He insisted that the place of Bulgaria is "in a strong and united European Union" that opposes threats and coercion.

The Bulgarian Helsinki Committee described the country's signing of the Board of Peace charter as an "act of unprecedented legal nihilism and outright encroachment on the country's constitutional foundations." The BHC called for an immediate reversal of "this anti-constitutional decision that puts the country in international isolation and caters to the private interests of Delyan Peevski for removal of his sanctions under the US Global Magnitsky Act at the expense of national security."

Delyan Peevski, for his part, welcomed the government's move as "a decisive step for the country’s future." The leader of the Movement for Rights and Freedoms – New Beginning argued that "it is an honour and a privilege for Bulgaria to take part in building a new, fairer and more stable world order."

GERB-UDF deputy floor leader Denitsa Sacheva said that the decision for Bulgaria to join the Board of Peace in no way contradicts the current general European consensus. According to Sacheva, it is important for Bulgaria to make decisions and have its say on security issues. "We are a border zone in terms of security, the Middle East, and migration, and as such we continue to fulfill our commitments conscientiously and responsibly, which in no way contradicts the interests of the European Union," she said.