Sofia, June 7 (BTA) - "The corruption environment in Bulgaria
not only damages the country's reputation, but undermines its
political system and the foundations of our democracy, which
makes it nonfunctional and ineffective," said caretaker Prime
Minister Stefan Yanev while opening a meeting of the Security
Council with the Council of Ministers here on Monday. "We can't
have a stable political system, a prosperous economy and a
working social system without resolving the fundamental issues
with corruption," added the Prime Minister.

He said that to this end the national efforts for the
eradication of corruption should be consolidated.

The meeting focuses on the current risks and threats to the
national security system, and is the first meeting of the
Security Council under the caretaker government.

Of political stability in the wake of sanctions imposed by the
US Treasury Department on three Bulgarian individuals and 64
companies, Yanev said that this is a serious sign that
corruption in Bulgaria has taken deep roots in the political and
 economic system and that the problems and consequences go
beyond the borders of this country.
 
Addressing the Council, Yanev said that the government should
protect state-run companies from being subjected to financial
sanctions. "We need to prevent bank transactions to these
individuals under investigation in order not to block businesses
 and state-tun companies," said the Prime Minister.

In this respect, the Prime Minister highlighted the need to draw
 up rules for the conduct of Bulgarian banks in a situation such
 as this (sanctions imposed by the US under the Magnitsky Act)
and in line with the Credit Institutions Act.

The Prime Minister recalled that in the absence of applicable
legislation and a working Parliament that can adopt such
legislation, in order to protect state and municipal companies
and other budget spenders from falling within the US sanctions'
scope, the government has decided to set up a standing working
group.

Prime Minister Yanev described the lack of a secretariat of the
Security Council as a serious oversight and a fundamental issue,
 because in his words, such a unit is crucial to crisis
management. According to him, the activities of the Security
Council so far seem to have been just a facade.

Under the Act on the Management and the Functioning of the
National Security System Protection, the process is implemented
by the Council of Ministers through the National Crisis
Management System, and the Secretariat of the Security Council
assumes the functions of a national situation centre in the
crisis management process, recalled the Prime Minister.

Yanev said that the caretaker government has established
systemic problems and deficiencies in the security sector. Among
 them he listed issues related to the observation of the
political neutrality principle and added that during the closed
part of the meeting this and other problems in the national
security protection system will be discussed in detail.

* * *

"I think it would be unconstitutional if the State is unable
protect its financial security and the financial security of
Bulgarian citizens," President Rumen Radev told journalists in
the southern city of Plovdiv on Monday. He was approached to
comment whether the constitutional rights of individuals and
companies included in an extended black list compiled by the
caretaker cabinet won't be violated.  He added: "We should be
very careful of civil rights but we should be very clear that we
 must protect the financial interest of the country if state
budget organizations and state companies fall under these
sanctions in the future," he added.

Also, the President said that sanctions imposed on Bulgarian
individuals and companies under the Magnitsky Act are a
precedent in the EU. "There is no clear legislation pertaining
to what an ally and a country that is a member of the EU and
NATO should do," said Radev, adding that the caretaker
government must take steps which will minimize the financial
risk to state institutions and the Bulgarian citizens. "Such
measures are taken very carefully and very precisely in
compliance with the law," said the President. NV/PP