EditBorissov backpedals, tells EPP Bulgaria will not ratify Trump’s Board of Peace charter
The former PM reportedly cited ‘special issues’ with Washington as an excuse for the incumbent premier to sign the controversial document
Bulgarian GERB leader Boyko Borissov has told the European People’s Party (EPP) that the country will not ratify its signature under the so-called Board of Peace charter initiated by U.S. President Donald Trump, citing unspecified “special issues” in bilateral relations with Washington.
The explanation was relayed publicly by Bulgarian MEP Radan Kanev (Democrats for a Strong Bulgaria/EPP), who said EPP president Manfred Weber shared Borissov’s account during a meeting of the group attended by hundreds of MEPs and parliamentary staff.
Both Borissov and Kanev attend EPP summits as their parties are members of this European political family.
According to Kanev, the issue was raised by him during the EPP group meeting, where he questioned the decision of Bulgaria’s outgoing prime minister, Rosen Zhelyazkov, to sign the charter in Davos on 26 January. Zhelyazkov is a GERB politician who was nominated for prime minister by Borissov.
“At the EPP group meeting I raised the question of the signing of the so-called ‘Board of Peace’ charter – Donald Trump’s personal international initiative – by the Bulgarian prime minister,” Kanev wrote on Facebook.
Kanev warned colleagues that the move represented a political risk for the EPP, noting that among EU member states only two government leaders had signed the document: Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and Bulgaria’s Zhelyazkov, whom Kanev described as “little-known” and generally presented as a “pro-European EPP prime minister”.
According to Kanev, Weber responded by recounting Borissov’s explanation given earlier at an EPP summit in Zagreb. “Regarding the situation in Bulgaria: in Zagreb, Boyko Borissov explained to us that certain special issues between the United States and Bulgaria necessitated this action, but that the charter would not be ratified,” Weber was quoted as saying.
The account contrasts with the explanations offered by Borissov and members of his political camp to domestic media, Kanev argued. He said he was “deeply concerned” by the notion that Bulgaria might have “special issues” with Washington, adding that he hoped these were “personal rather than national”.
“I would be outraged if personal problems were to lead to national humiliation and strategic risks,” Kanev said, implicitly referring to U.S. Magnitsky Act sanctions imposed for corruption on a prominent Bulgarian political leader and oligarch Delyan Peevski and ongoing efforts to have them lifted. U.S. Magnitsky sanctions have also been imposed on Vladislav Goranov (GERB), who served as finance minister in Borissov-led government..
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An unexpected signature
Zhelyazkov’s appearance among the signatories of the Board of Peace charter took Bulgarians by surprise. Until days before the Davos meeting, the government – which tendered its resignation on 11 December 2025 but continues to exercise full executive powers until the appointment of a caretaker administration, had given no public indication that it was preparing to join the initiative.
It emerged only shortly beforehand, via a statement from the presidency, that Bulgaria had been invited to sign. The invitation, however, had been addressed to President Rumen Radev, who had resigned on 19 January to enter party politics ahead of early elections.
Political pressure for Bulgaria’s participation came publicly from Delyan Peevski, who urged state institutions to act swiftly. Peevski called on then-president Radev to submit the issue to parliament and the Council of Ministers.
Zhelyazkov’s rapid move to sign the charter triggered sharp criticism from opposition figures, who argued that Bulgaria stood to gain little from participation while risking further alienation within the European Union.
On the day of the signing, Zhelyazkov stated that a bill to ratify the charter would be submitted to parliament “as early as next week”, in order to secure parliamentary approval and allow Bulgaria’s membership to enter into force.
That position was later contradicted by senior figures from his own political camp. Former foreign minister and current interior minister Daniel Mitov defended the decision as one of strategic realism. Speaking to Bulgarian National Radio, Mitov said that when a major geopolitical initiative led by the United States takes shape, “it is better to be at the table than on the menu”. He argued that staying out would not amount to neutrality, but to self-exclusion.
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Ratification put on hold
By contrast, Foreign Minister Georg Georgiev said the government would not seek ratification of the charter in the current parliament and would leave the decision to the next legislature. In an interview with bTV, Georgiev said that until ratification takes place, Bulgaria has no obligations under the charter and that future elected authorities would be free to decide whether to proceed.
Peevski criticised the delay, warning that postponing ratification sent a negative signal to Bulgaria’s international partners.
Borissov, however, offered a different explanation for the reversal. “Because Peevski came out and said the government should ratify it. And we will not ratify it for that reason,” Borissov told bTV. “Peevski has no role in the signing. I cannot forbid party leaders from speaking. Everyone can say whatever they want; that is their business.”
For Kanev, the episode underscores a deeper political fault line ahead of Bulgaria’s election campaign. He has said that the country’s response to what he described as Trump’s “coercive policies”, and the need for a unified European response, will be central to his criticism of Borissov and GERB.
Bulgaria’s alignment with Trump’s Board of Peace triggers constitutional and political backlash
Caption: Boyko Borissov and Manfred Weber in 2022 / Facebook page of Boyko Borissov.
Updated: February 6, 2026 - 09:17
