BULGARIA’S PRESIDENT RADEV: I HAVE NEVER WELCOMED CETA

“I have never welcomed and will not welcome the EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA). I have never voted and will not vote for CETA. On the contrary, as President of the Republic of Bulgaria, who is the guardian of the Bulgarian Constitution, I will refer the matter to the Constitutional Court because CETA requires changes to our Constitution and the Constitutional Court will have to decide whether these changes are in the conformity with the law,” Bulgaria’s President Roumen Radev told Bulgarian journalists in Brussels on 10th of March, where he participated in the European Council summit.

CETA from now on is in the hands of Bulgarian Parliament, which will vote on its ratification, Radev explained.

“One thing must be clear, that I do not fight lost battles. The EU has already decided about CETA. As soon as the Bulgarian government was authorized, it decided to support CETA, and the agreement was signed here. In October 2016, the Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov voted for CETA at the European Council. These are the facts and most importantly, CETA was approved by the European Parliament." Radev said.

“What was expressed on 9th of March, was a declaration, which was not voted because of Poland's disapproval of Donald Tusk's re-election as President of the European Council,“ Radev added.