President vetoed amendments to the State Property Act

President Rumen Radev vetoed the Law on Amendments and Additions to the State Property Act, the press office of the head of state announced on May 27.

The President firmly supports the main purpose of the changes in the State Property Act, which aim to optimize and accelerate the process of building significant national sites. He also welcomes changes to promote investments in the industrial sector. Nevertheless, the President believes that there is no balance between public interest and property protected by the Constitution, and that there is a risk of delaying important infrastructure projects instead of accelerating them.

According to the President, even now theadvance implementation of expropriation acts is applicable to national sites, such as motorways, ports, airports, gas pipelines, etc. The proposed amendments extend the advance implementation to sites of national importance defined as such by a law or an act of the Council of Ministers. Given the lack of criteria on the baisi of which the Council of Ministerswill define sites of national importance, the scope of the advance implementation may affect many private properties without guarantees that these are sites for common use in the public interest, he says.

The Head of State also opposes the unequal treatment of small and large owners of farmlands and forest areas, who will be compensated in a different way under the revisions. This change creates a serious risk of delaying, rather than speeding up the process of building significant national sites, the President's statement reads.