NEWS

Vice President Popova: We need to empower Bulgarians abroad to participate in all government policies

The attitude of the strategy of the state towards Bulgarians abroad must enable them to participate in the development of all government policies, Vice President Margarita Popova told students from across the country in a lecture at the Albena resort. The lecture, part of "Summer University 2012" was on the theme of the Presidential institution and its interaction with other authorities. “Bulgarians and Bulgarian communities abroad want to be involved in all Bulgarian state policies and we must give them a chance. Otherwise, the state strategy for Bulgarians abroad will remain an institutional mechanism that governs the interaction only of institutions in the country and for decades will leave Bulgarians abroad in frustration, the Vice President said.

The main task of the state is to motivate young people to remain in or return to Bulgaria, but not the way that this happened before. According to the Vice President, a reasonable policy for Bulgarians abroad will make it possible for them, if they return to Bulgaria, to take part in all public policies.

Vice President Popova presented to the students the opportunities for the Presidential institution to interact with young people and with various community groups. She said that for 20 years, the constitutional model in Bulgaria, insofar as it relates to the presidential institution, has not yet been fully represented in theoretical and constitutional practice. “This is forthcoming and might be more successful if more young, bright and enthusiastic people are involved in this debate,” the Vice President said. She said that the Presidential institution is not static, and depending on the political figures who act as President and Vice President, could be very dynamic and very effective.

The Vice President announced the start of the internship program of the Commission of Pardons in the Presidential administration, aimed at students of law and public administration. “We want to show that a pardon is not just a request from a citizen who is currently jailed, but is a much wider and much stronger socially charged state policy,” Vice President Popova said. Conditions, application procedures and the scope of the internship program of the President Commission on Pardons are to be announced.