Bulgarian President Roumen Radev said on April 29 that he vetoed parts of the most recent bill to amend the Investment Promotion Act, passed by the National Assembly earlier this month.

In his motives, Radev said that he was vetoing some of the provisions of the bill that “endanger the constitutionally-guaranteed right of Bulgarian citizens to a healthy environment.”

Among the provisions that Radev objected to was the easing of restrictions on state-owned enterprises to sell or exchange assets without tender at prices below market valuation. The veto motives argued that it was passed without an impact assessment or taking into account the opinions of potential stakeholders.

The provision extending the validity of environmental impact assessment reviews breached the constitution by having retroactive effect, the motives said.

Radev also vetoed provisions envisioning shorter deadlines for regulatory bodies to rule on investment proposals and expanding the definition of strategic projects, as well as limiting judicial recourse on some categories of investment projects.

Bulgaria’s constitution grants the head of state a limited power of veto, through enabling the President to return legislation to the National Assembly for further discussion.

The National Assembly may overturn the President’s veto through a simple majority vote or accept the veto and review the vetoed clauses. Since taking office in January 2017, Radev made liberal use of the power and this was his 36th vetoed bill.

The National Assembly overturned the veto on all but six occasions – five times that the veto was accepted by MPs, and one instance where the government coalition at the time failed to muster the support needed to overturn it.

(Photo: president.bg)

Please support independent journalism by clicking on the button below. For as little as three euro a month or the equivalent in other currencies, you can support The Sofia Globe via patreon.com and get access to exclusive subscriber-only content:

Become a Patron!

Comments