III 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 322 

Reaffirming the alliance between the United States and Bulgaria, congratulating Bulgaria on its July 11, 2021 parliamentary elections, and calling 

for continued progress in Bulgaria towards combating corruption, respecting the freedom of the press, and protecting minority rights. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 27, 2021 

Mr. CARDIN (for himself, Mr. CORNYN, Mr. WICKER, and Mr. TILLIS) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on 

Foreign Relations 

RESOLUTION 

Reaffirming the alliance between the United States and Bulgaria, congratulating Bulgaria on its July 11, 2021 parliamentary elections, and calling for continued progress 

in Bulgaria towards combating corruption, respecting the 

freedom of the press, and protecting minority rights. 

Whereas Bulgaria, which is an original signatory of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe, done at 

Helsinki August 1, 1975 (commonly known as the ‘‘Helsinki Final Act’’)— 

(1) has transitioned from a Cold War-era, Soviet 

satellite to a multi-party democracy with a market economy; and 


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•SRES 322 IS 

(2) remains an active and constructive participant in 

the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe 

(OSCE); 

Whereas because of its progress on the institutionalization of 

democratic systems and economic reforms, Bulgaria 

joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) 

in 2004 and the European Union in 2007; 

Whereas Bulgaria is a steadfast ally of the United States in 

an area of strategic importance to the United States; 

Whereas bilateral security cooperation between the United 

States and Bulgaria is deep and growing stronger, including through the October 2020 signing of a 10-year 

defense cooperation roadmap, and regular United States 

military training conducted in Bulgaria, including at the 

Novo Selo Training Area; 

Whereas Bulgaria has contributed approximately 21,000 

troops to various NATO missions; 

Whereas Bulgaria is on track to consistently reach defense 

spending of at least 2 percent of its gross domestic product by 2024; 

Whereas the international observers representing the OSCE 

Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, 

the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe concluded that 

Bulgaria’s July 11, 2021, parliamentary elections were 

‘‘competitive with fundamental freedoms generally respected’’; 

Whereas, on July 8 and 9, 2021, Bulgaria hosted the annual 

summit meeting of the Three Seas Initiative, a unique region-led undertaking launched in 2015 to create a political platform and investment fund to promote transporVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:37 Jul 28, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR322.IS SR322

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tation, energy, and digital infrastructure connectivity 

across its 12 member states (Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, 

Czechia, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, 

Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia); 

Whereas Bulgaria’s continued progress has been threatened 

by multiple internal challenges, including corruption, and 

Bulgaria is consistently among the lowest-ranked European Union member states in Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index; 

Whereas Bulgaria was ranked 112th out of 180 countries in 

the Reporters Without Borders 2021 World Press Freedom Index, which is the lowest position of any European 

Union country; 

Whereas, on March 10, 2021, a Reporters Without Borders 

expert stated, ‘‘Press freedom has reached an impasse in 

Bulgaria and independent media are on the brink of disappearing’’, citing political interference with public 

broadcasters, and the abuse of privately owned media for 

political purposes, among other concerns; 

Whereas Bulgaria is an attractive, low-cost investment destination with a talented, tech-savvy labor pool, but has 

problems with endemic corruption, including in large infrastructure projects and in the energy sector; 

Whereas, on June 2, 2021, the Department of the Treasury’s 

Office of Foreign Assets Control announced sanctions 

under the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act (subtitle F of title XII of Public Law 114– 

328; 22 U.S.C. 2656 note) against 3 Bulgarian individuals and 64 associated entities, while the Department of 

State announced visa bans on 5 former Bulgarian Government officials due to corruption; 


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Whereas religious pluralism has long been a positive feature 

of Bulgarian society, though the Muslim community still 

encounters obstacles in its quest to reclaim property and 

build new houses of worship in Sofia; 

Whereas the Romani community faces systemic discrimination in Bulgaria, including discrimination in access to 

education, rights to residency, and access to voting, and 

Romani settlements faced particularly harsh restrictions 

as a result of the COVID–19 pandemic; 

Whereas Bulgaria has withheld its support for neighboring 

North Macedonia to open accession talks with the European Union; and 

Whereas America’s most successful and enduring relationships are built on shared values: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) reaffirms its commitment to the historic 

3 partnership between the United States and Bulgaria 

4 and to advance democracy, prosperity, and security 

5 in Bulgaria; 

6 (2) congratulates the Bulgarian people on the 

7 successful conduct of the July 11 parliamentary 

8 elections; 

9 (3) declares its support for the Three Seas Ini10 tiative; 

11 (4) urges Bulgarian authorities to redouble ef12 forts to address corruption, sustain and protect a 

13 healthy independent media, and protect the rights of 

14 all minority groups in Bulgaria, in line with its comVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:37 Jul 28, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SR322.IS SR322

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1 mitments to the Organization for Security and Co2 operation in Europe; 

3 (5) encourages Bulgaria to support the aspira4 tions for European Union membership of neigh5 boring North Macedonia; 

6 (6) supports Bulgaria’s efforts to diversify its 

7 energy sources to minimize the malign influence of 

8 dominant suppliers; and 

9 (7) affirms its intent to continue to support 

10 Bulgaria’s efforts in these areas, including through 

11 the application of a wide range of supportive meas12 ures, such as— 

13 (A) targeted Global Magnitsky Sanctions, 

14 as and when appropriate; and 

15 (B) support for independent journalism, 

16 including through the recently returned Radio 

17 Free Europe Bulgarian Service, which excels in 

18 investigative reporting. 

Æ 


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