President will present arguments for vetoing ratification of F-16 deal contracts

President Rumen Radev on July 24 will present his arguments for vetoing the Law on the ratification of the contract for the purchase of eight US-made F-16 Block 70 aircrafts.

Yesterday, the head of state returned the texts to the Parliament because of the lack of sufficient political and public consensus on the parameters of the contracts.

According to Radev, the law was adopted on the "fast track" procedure, leaving a number of important issues unnoticed, including the price, warranties, delivery terms, penalties and indemnities, for which clear answers are needed. Meanwhile, MPs from the Defence Committee will look at the presidential veto and the motives for it.

Yesterday, the ruling GERB said it would not delay the acquisition of fighter jets.

Bulgarian President Roumen Radev on July 23 said that he had vetoed the Parliament’s ratification of four contracts enabling the country’s acquisition of F-16 fighter jets.

The ratification was approved by Parliament on July 19 at both readings, in one sitting that also saw approval for the Budget Act revision linked to the deal.

In his motivation for the veto, Radev said that the sharp disputes in Parliament during debate on the ratification of the contracts – “unusual for this type of law” – showed that public consensus on the contracts had not been sought nor achieved.

He said that because of the shortened legislative procedure, a number of important issues such as prices, warranties, delivery deadlines, penalties, indemnities, and so on, have remained unclear and answers are owed to the public.