Bulgaria

**General information about the policy process**

The Republic of Bulgaria is a parliamentary unitary state.

The political system of the state is based on a multi-level governance model – on central / national and municipal level.

The national executive authority is the Council of Ministers. The Government is also the main political actor in regards with exercising the right of legislative initiative. The Council of Ministers is controlled by the Parliament.

Districts authorities have administrative functions. Their main task provided by the Constitution is to implement the state governance policies on site within the district territories and to ensure coherence between national and local interests.

The Bulgarian Constitution recognises the principle of local self-governance, exercised by the municipal authorities. The process of decentralisation at the municipal level in Bulgaria started as early as the 1990s. Since then, municipalities have acquired many competences on local level complemented by some financial autonomy. Municipalities are the only level where self-governance is exercised, while the districts are fully dependent on the State's budget and their governors are directly appointed by the Council of Ministers.

##### The National Assembly

The legislature on national level is in the hands of the Parliament (the National Assembly) – a permanent one-chamber body consisting of 240 directly elected deputies for the 4 year-term.

There are no legislative powers at the sub-national level having a national impact. Municipal councils are empowered to adopt ordinances with local application field regulating
relations of local importance in line with the statutory acts of higher degree.

##### The President of Bulgaria

The President of the Republic has rather limited competences in the policy processes. In the legislative process on national level he is empowered to act as a veto player, although he has the right to impose at his/her discretion only a dilatory veto to laws adopted by the Parliament. In this case the Parliament is obliged to
consider the veto and vote again the legislative act. If adopted again with the required qualified majority, the law shall be promulgated by the President with no right to impose a new veto on it.

·       the President of the Republic is directly elected by the people for a term of five years

·       symbolizes the unity of the nation, represents the state in international relations

·       an independent institution, does not belong to any of the three powers – legislative, executive and judicial, but interacts with each of them

·       the President addresses the people of Bulgaria and the National Assembly about important for the nation issues

·       The President appoints the elections for members of the National Assembly, elections for members of the European Parliament from the Republic of Bulgaria, elections for local self-government bodies and national referendums. He/She may make a proposal to the National Assembly for holding a national referendum.

·       The President has the right of legislative initiative to amend the Constitution

·       The President is participate in the legislative process by promulgating laws and may once return the law to the parliament for the revision, but can not put veto on it. If the National Assembly re-adopts the law by a majority, the President is obliged to promulgate it

*·* The President participates in the *process of forming* a new *government*. When the candidate for the position of the Prime-minister is approved by the leading parliament groups, t*he President proposes* that candidate to the *National Assembly. Elected by the National Assembly Prime-minister proposes the composition of the Council of Minister*

*·       If the election of the government fails, the President dissolves the parliament, appoints the new parliament election and assigns a provisional government*

*·       the President have right to sign the* international treaties on behalf of the state, once this is approved by the Council of Ministers

·       *the President* approves changes of the borders and of administrative-territorial units proposed by the government, as well as geographical borders of the Republic of Bulgaria

*·* the President appoint and dismiss the heads of diplomatic missions and permanent representatives of the state in international organizations, proposed by the Council of Ministers under the *Diplomatic Service Act*

·       the President has a power under certain conditions to forgive irrecoverable state debts

·       the President is the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Bulgaria. He appoints and dismisses the supreme command of the armed forces and awards high military ranks, proposed by the Council of Ministers

·       the president heads the National Security Council

* the President appoints one of the members of the commission for prevention and detection of conflicts of interest and the commission for confiscation of illegally acquired property; two members of the council for electronic media; a representative in the council on drugs; three members of the Management Board of the Bulgarian National Bank; four members of the commission for protection against discrimination; one member of the Communications Regulation Commission; the chairman of the state agency ”National Security”, the director of the National Intelligence Service, the head of the National Guard service and the Secretary General of the Ministry of the Internal Affairs, proposed by the Council of ministers.

Bulgaria joined the European Union (EU) on 1 January 2007. The country elected 17 members of the European Parliament (EP) in the 2019 elections for the 2019 – 2024 EP session.

**Main national actors**

The Council of Ministers is the main authority of the executive power in the Republic of Bulgaria. It consists of the Prime Minister of Bulgaria and all the specialized ministers. On the basis of laws and in order to implement them, the Council of Ministers adopts decrees, orders and decisions. By means of decrees, the Council of Ministers also adopts implementing rules and regulations. The Ministers issue implementing rules, regulations, instructions and orders.

**Regional or local actors involved**

**The relationship between actors**

**References:**

1. Constitution of the Republic of Bulgaria. Available at: https://www.parliament.bg/en/const.
2. Council of Ministers of the Republic of Bulgaria. Available at: https://www.gov.bg/en.
3. National Assembly of the Republic of Bulgaria. Available at: https://www.parliament.bg/en.
4. President of the Republic of Bulgaria. Available at: https://m.president.bg/bg/index.
5. The President of the Republic of Bulgaria. Available at: https://m.president.bg/bg/cat72/Konstitucionni-pravomoshtia