site.btaCaretaker Cabinet Has All Submitted Documents Regarding US President Trump’s Board of Peace, FM Neynsky Says

Caretaker Foreign Minister Nadezhda Neynsky said at a news conference on Friday that the government has all documents submitted to the Council of Ministers of Bulgaria regarding US President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace, commenting on Bulgaria’s potential accession to the body.

Neynsky said that for reasons unknown to her it had been quite difficult to obtain the documents adopted by the previous government concerning the Board of Peace. She stressed the need to clearly distinguish the issue from Trump’s comprehensive peace plan for the Gaza Strip, which is now entering its second phase and in which Nickolay Mladenov has played a significant role.

According to Neynsky, Bulgaria, like most European Union member states, has serious reservations about the legal status of the expanded version of the Board. She explained that the initiative goes beyond the Gaza plan, which is why, if Parliament adopts such a decision, the government will seek the opinion of the Constitutional Court of Bulgaria on whether provisions in the Board’s statute conflict with the Constitution and national legislation. These concerns, Neynsky added, are shared by many European countries, which support a peace plan for Gaza but believe that certain parts of the statute should receive legal approval from their constitutional courts.

Also on Friday, commenting on the possibility that Parliament might adopt a bill ratifying an agreement on Bulgaria’s accession to the Board of Peace, caretaker Prime Minister Andrey Gurov said that, if such a decision is adopted, the government will refer the matter to the Constitutional Court. Gurov said it should be clear that the caretaker cabinet will not be guided by such actions.