The People's Assembly (parliament) of Bulgaria on December 8 voted to override President Rumen Radev's veto on an agreement between the Bulgarian Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense on the supply of old armored personnel carriers (APCs) to Ukraine by Bulgaria, ratified by parliament last month.
The Bulgarian publication Sofia Globe writes about this.
Before this, Bulgarian President Radev vetoed the ratification of the agreement, saying that MPs had not properly considered alternative uses of the equipment, noting that it could be used by the border police or the fire department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
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Radev regularly opposed Bulgarian military aid to Ukraine, often repeating Kremlin talking points such as the claim that sending Soviet-era equipment to Ukraine would reduce Bulgarian defenses and risk dragging Sofia into war.
The veto drew swift condemnation from parliamentary groups that support the Cabinet of Prime Minister Nikolai Denkov. The motion to override the veto was passed by 161 votes in favor and 55 against.
The agreement provides that Bulgaria will supply 100 armored personnel carriers and existing weapons, as well as spare parts for them, which are surplus to the needs of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The machines were purchased in the 1980s by the then communist regime and were mothballed for decades.
The Bulgarian Constitution grants the head of state a limited veto, allowing the president to return laws to the People's Assembly for further discussion.
The People's Assembly can override the president's veto by a simple majority of votes or accept the veto and revise the vetoed provisions.
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Since taking office in January 2017, Radev has regularly used his powers, and this was his 34th veto.
The National Assembly overrode the veto in all but five cases — four times the veto was accepted by MPs, including twice earlier this year, and once when the government coalition was unable to muster the support needed to override it.
