BULGARIA’S PRESIDENT: PEOPLE ARE THIRSTY FOR JUSTICE

In an address to the Bulgarian Parliament on 19th of March, after the conclusion the month of political consultations, President Rosen Plevneliev outlined four objectives for Bulgaria to achieve before it takes over the Presidency of the European Union in 2018. These include: Bulgaria’s accession to the EU's borderless Schengen area, entering the European Exchange Rate Mechanism ERM II, joining the EU's Single Supervisory Mechanism and joining the European Energy Union.

The implementation of these goals will result in a completely new environment and will enhance the confidence of the Bulgarian people, Bulgaria’s Head of State said.

He reiterated that he would exercise his constitutional right to initiate a national referendum on voting rules to be held at the same time as the local elections in the autumn of 2015. Plevneliev opted for a judicial reform without changes in the Constitution and for changes in the security sector and the energy sector.

The President highlighted the problems in the economy, the low investments and the relevant economic growth. In order to attract investors and not oligarchs, the rules need to be applied equally to everyone, he said. According to him, the Bulgarian public has pointed to the need of reform in the judicial and law enforcement system as a key priority.

The President said that the 43rd National Assembly demonstrated a high degree of political responsibility by accepting the updated judicial system reform. This brings positive expectations, but results don’t come automatically, he noted.

The people are thirsty for justice and when they do not receive it, they fall in the trap of populism, the President noted. He reminded that there was not a single person punished after the banking crisis, which Bulgaria experienced in the 1990-ties and not a single lev was returned to the people.