site.btaPresident Imposes Partial Veto on Amended State Intelligence Agency Act

Bulgaria's President Rumen Radev has imposed a partial veto on the State Intelligence Agency Act (SIA) as amended on October 10, Radev's press secretariat said on Wednesday. The amendments transfer the power to appoint and dismiss the SIA chairperson from the President to Parliament. Nominations will come from the Council of Ministers as before.

In his reasoning, Radev noted that the amendments to the existing mechanism for appointing and dismissing the SIA chairperson, in the context of shared competence between the Council of Ministers and the President, undermine guarantees of objectivity, independence and freedom from political influence in the selection of the chairperson. Under the proposed changes, the chairperson's appointment and dismissal would become dependent on ad hoc political interests in Parliament, which is neither in the national interest nor consistent with national security considerations, said Radev.

The President also challenged the claim made by the sponsors of the amendments that the election of the SIA Chairperson by the National Assembly would ensure stability, predictability and public trust. He argued that in the event of a conflict between the Council of Ministers and the President, no candidate would be elected. He stressed that the goal is not to achieve uncritical unanimity among state bodies on each nomination, but rather to ensure that the selection of the chairperson can be subject to the assessment of an additional independent body as a prerequisite for gaining public confidence.

In seeking to ensure a conflict-free selection and guaranteed unanimity, the National Assembly takes over the authority to appoint the SIA chairperson, thereby politicizing the process and making the chairperson dependent on shifting majorities, the President said.