Vigenin: Nobody from "the shadows" can give orders to ministers. The decisions are taken in the Council of Ministers

“Nobody can give orders to ministers. This is unacceptable,” said Bulgarian MEP from the Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament and member of the BSP Executive Bureau Kristian Vigenin on bTV. This was how he answered questions about the comments on pressure being put on ministers. “The Council of Ministers is the collective body, that is where the decisions are taken. Nobody from outside, not even a party leadership, can dictate what will happen in the executive,” Vigenin emphasised. In his view this vicious practice of giving orders to ministers “from the shadows” has to be firmly stopped. “If there are people who have been given orders, let them come out and say so openly. Such behaviour destroys the democratic legitimacy of the government and calls into question who the cabinet decisions really serve, the citizens or hidden interests,” he warned. Kristian Vigenin said that he knows the BSP ministers very well and believes that they do not give in to pressure, but work responsibly and in the interest of Bulgarian citizens: “I do not think our ministers, nominated by BSP, are people anyone can give orders to.”

The member of the BSP Executive Bureau criticised the attempts to take away the president powers in appointing the heads of the security services: “Politicising the services could turn out to be a severe and long-term problem. There are foundations of the state that cannot be called into question. The Council of Ministers proposes the heads of the services, the president confirms them, and parliament scrutinises them through a committee. Changes to the legislation should not be rushed, dialogue should be sought instead. In time the majority will not be the same, Radev will not be president.” Kristian Vigenin said that he learned about the amendments tabled without there having been a position of the BSP leadership, and that he will ask what the reasons for supporting it are at the next meeting of the party Executive Bureau.

Palestine, NATO and Moldova

On the Palestinian question the MEP and former foreign minister commented that Bulgaria recognised the state of Palestine as early as before 1989 and has never stepped back from the position of two states, Israel and Palestine. “The Palestinian question has been put very firmly at the UN, that is a sign. Unfortunately, Israel is pursuing a consistent policy that makes the creation of a Palestinian state impossible. We are seeing tens of thousands killed, hunger, children without a home. This is absurd,” he pointed out. He described the actions of the government of Benjamin Netanyahu as deliberately aimed at blocking the peace process.

Kristian Vigenin stressed that the European Union cannot influence and take part in resolving all conflicts, because it has neither the political nor the military capacity, while on the other hand the war in Ukraine weighs on it as an enormous problem.

On the more frequent incidents of Russian aircraft violating the airspace of NATO member states, Vigenin warned that a calm response is needed so that things do not come to a direct clash: “Every such incident carries the risk of a big conflict between Russia and a NATO member state. That would mean a third world war in practice.” He believes the EU should strengthen its defence by including the new drone wall along the eastern flank. “We have to be ready for these threats. The world is becoming an ever more insecure place. More and more often it turns out that it is important to be strong rather than to be right. International law is being violated more and more often. We, as a country with limited resources, have to try to work together with our partners and try to contribute to the protection that is needed,” the MEP commented.

According to Kristian Vigenin, the information about Russian interference in the elections in Moldova is exaggerated. He believes Russia would not allow itself such actions in an EU and NATO member state. This does not rule out the need for the European Union to strengthen its cybersecurity, however.