Bulgaria’s alignment with Trump’s Board of Peace triggers constitutional and political backlash

Bulgaria has found itself at the centre of a new political storm after its outgoing prime minister Rossen Zhelyazkov signed the charter of U.S. President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace, a move that has triggered fierce domestic backlash and raised serious constitutional and foreign policy concerns.

The signing took place on Thursday on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, where Trump officially announced the composition of the Board of Peace, envisaged as part of a transitional governance framework for the Gaza Strip. Bulgaria’s inclusion came as a surprise, particularly given the absence of Western European leaders at the ceremony, with Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán standing out as the sole exception.

Although the invitation to join the initiative had been addressed to the Bulgarian presidency, it was Zhelyazkov who proceeded to sign the document. His government – comprising GERB, the Socialists from BSP and the populist ITN, and backed by the DPS of Delyan Peevski, who is sanctioned for corruption by the United States and the United Kingdom, resigned on 11 December amid mass anti-corruption protests, but remains in office until a caretaker cabinet is appointed and snap elections are held.

Political pressure to bring Bulgaria into Trump’s initiative came from Peevski, who publicly urged the country’s institutions to act swiftly. Peevski called on then-President Rumen Radev who received Trump’s invitation, to submit the issue to parliament and the Council of Ministers. On 19 January Radev announced his resignation in order to enter party politics as the country is heading toward snap elections.

Zhelyazkov’s swift compliance with this line drew sharp criticism from opposition figures, who argued that Bulgaria stood to gain no tangible benefit from participation, while risking further alienation within the European Union.

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In his remarks on the day of the signing, Zhelyazkov stated that a draft ratification bill would be submitted to the National Assembly “as early as next week” in order to secure parliamentary approval and allow the accession 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 in an interview with Bulgarian National Radio, arguing that participation was a matter of strategic realism. According to Mitov, when a major geopolitical initiative is being formed under U.S. leadership, it is “better to be at the table than on the menu”. He added that failing to join at such a moment would not amount to neutrality, but to self-exclusion, stressing that Bulgaria continues to support Ukraine’s right to self-defence while maintaining the United States as a key geopolitical partner.

Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Georg Georgiev announced that the government would not seek ratification of the charter in the current parliament, leaving the decision to the next legislature. Speaking to bTV, Georgiev said that until ratification takes place, Bulgaria has no obligations under the charter, and that the future elected authorities would be free to decide whether to proceed.

The reversal did little to calm criticism. Bozhidar Bozhanov, a leading figure in the pro-European opposition coalition We Continue the Change – Democratic Bulgaria (PP-DB), commented that the ruling party had belatedly realised the gravity of the mistake made “on Peevski’s orders”, but that the reputational damage to Bulgaria’s standing in Europe could not be undone.

Even harsher language came from MEP Radan Kanev of Democrats for a Strong Bulgaria (EPP), part of PP-DB, who described Zhelyazkov’s appearance in Davos as the biggest foreign policy blunder of the past two decades, calling it a direct threat to national security and a humiliation for Bulgarian citizens.

Beyond the political sphere, a group of professors from the Department of International Law and International Relations at Sofia University’s Faculty of Law issued a sharply worded legal analysis against Bulgaria’s involvement in the Board of Peace. They urged the National Assembly to refuse ratification, arguing that the agreement violates the Bulgarian Constitution, the UN Charter and core principles of EU law.

The academics argue that the document was signed without public debate, parliamentary scrutiny or transparency, constituting a breach of the constitutional framework for foreign policy-making and an arbitrary exercise of executive power incompatible with democratic standards and the rule of law. They also criticise the substance of the charter, which concentrates decisive powers in a single individual with lifetime authority and no safeguards against arbitrary rule, fails to establish collective decision-making and leaves member states’ rights undefined. According to the lecturers, unilateral engagement in the initiative risks undermining Bulgaria’s international legal commitments and severely damaging its credibility within the European Union.

A protest against Bulgaria’s participation in the Board of Peace is scheduled for Tuesday evening, organised by the group Solidarity with Palestine, which accuses the initiative of legitimising war crimes.

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Caption: U.S. President Donald Trump (C) sits between Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev (L) and Bulgaria’s Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov (R) during a signing ceremony of the founding charter at the ‘Board of Peace’ meeting during the 56th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF), in Davos, Switzerland, 22 January 2026. EPA/GIAN EHRENZELLER