President Rumen Radev leveled fresh attacks against the Government for "destructive compromises", "breaking fundamental European principles" and "legitimizing lawlessness". He was asked by the press during a public appearance to comment on a frequent back-and-forth between the government and himself, to which he said: "It was the Government, not me, who started a war against the presidential institution."
In the most recent exchange, Prime Minister Nikolay Denkov said that "dialogue between the various institutions is of key importance" and expressed regret that "the presidential institution does not take part in that process".
"At the moment we have crypto governance following a script from that recording: a script aimed at the attainment of personal goals at the cost of grave, destructive compromises, violating fundamental European principles and values, forgiving sins, legitimizing lawlessness and impunity," said the President.
The President was referring to a recording of an online meeting of ranking members of the Continue the Change (CC), which was made public by a break-away CC deputy in May 2023 and which shows the party discussing a need to purge the security services, minimize the President’s clout, get rid of appointees of GERB or the President in the Interior Ministry structures and the government agencies, among many other things.
President Radev added that "behind all the beautiful talking points of the Government lurks the dark script of the recording".
"There is no way I can be part of this script or allow the President's Office to be held hostage by some dark interests," he also said.
Radev went on to say: "Now they are calling for dialogue but all of us can see that they are not offering a friendly hand. At the same time they insist on constitutional and other legislative changes to curtail dramatically the powers of the President to make sure they [the President] can no longer act as checks and balances for the outrages of the Executive. This is hypocrisy that I cannot accept."
He further spoke about "clandestine preparation" of the Lukoil Neftochim Burgas oil refinery: "with no dialogue, without informing the public about this strategic issue, without analyzing the possible processes and impact".
Turning to the attending reporters, he urged them to ask for details "the people who first tell the foreign news media what their plans actually are". "The people" is obviously Finance Minister Assen Vassilev who was quoted by the Financial Times in a Tuesday story as saying that "the government’s squeeze on Russian companies had also prompted Lukoil to start the process of selling its largest oil refinery". “We have indications of interest,” Vassilev also told the FT.
Radev also said: "The power-holders owe an answer about the future they plan for the Bulgarian oil refinery and the thousands of its employees, the entire Burgas region, the national energy sector and economy".
Asked to comment the complaints of Hungary and Serbia about a fee that Bulgaria has introduced for Russian gas transits via its territory, which is likely to drive up the price they pay for Russian gas, Radev pointed that October 19 is the Day of Bulgarian-Hungarian Friendship and the government “has ruined that, too”. “What European solidarity and integration is the government talking about when they go against the interests of a fellow EU and NATO member and a partner: a country with which we have strong and deep cultural and distoric bonds, and is a top investor!”.
The President mentioned also Serbia and said that it is also affected by the new fee for gas transits.
He went on to speak about the importance of Hungary and Serbia on Bulgaria’s routes to the rest of Europe. “I don’t want to think that the government is not aware that our transport and communications with [the rest of] Europe goes through these two countries.”
He said that “people’s resignation to incompetent and outrageous decisions emboldens the government and they think they can do whatever they please in and out of the country, to trample of European standards and effective contracts, to meddle in sovereign decisions of other countries”.
He warned that the decision for the new fee on gas transits will bring about “the capitulation of Bulgartransgaz and its failure”. “We demand to hear an explanation from the government: whose interests they actually cater to because these are certainly not the public interests,” Radev said.
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