site.btaDeputy PM Zaharieva Meets with Representatives of Foreign Chambers of Commerce in Bulgaria

Sofia, July 14 (BTA) - Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ekaterina Zaharieva Friday met with representatives of the foreign chambers of commerce in Bulgaria, her Ministry said.

Zaharieva thanked the foreign chambers of commerce for supporting the government's will for judicial reform. "We have always sought the public's opinion on our proposals and I believe the business community will continue helping us in this," she said.

The meeting was held on Zaharieva's initiative and was prompted by a letter in which the chambers of commerce urged the Bulgarian institutions to reform the judiciary as recommended by the European Commission. The government's initiatives in the area of justice were discussed at the meeting.

The government is implementing the recommendations of the European Commission's report under the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism, which looks back on the 10-year period since Bulgaria joined the EU. It is also implementing an independent analysis of the structural and functional model of the prosecution service prepared by five prosecutors from Western Europe with the help of the Commission's Structural Reform Support Service, said Zaharieva.

"We are planning new expert missions like that one, this time for the Supreme Judicial Council, the Inspectorate and the courts," she told the foreign business representatives.

Zaharieva argued that taking the prosecution service out of the judiciary to make it part of the executive would not guarantee its independence but would have the opposite effect.

The Deputy Prime Minister stressed that the passage of an anti-corruption law was a necessary step which should be taken as soon as possible. She also talked about planned amendments to the Criminal Procedure Code aimed to rule out evasion of justice.

Administrative reform is another key component of the fight against corruption. Each ministry should analyse its procedures before a detailed plan for dealing with problematic administrative procedures is drawn up, Zaharieva said.

The participants in the meeting thanked her for Commercial Act amendments drafted by her team at the Justice Ministry, which became effective last December. They supplement the mechanisms preventing company theft and introduce stabilization proceedings for businesses faced with financial difficulties to prevent insolvency.

The government has been working to ease the regulatory burden, which is in the interest of both individuals and businesses and is a way to curtail corruption, said Zaharieva.

An independent, effective judicial system is a very important prerequisite for creating a sustainable business environment, and the government values the businesses' opinion. The foreign chambers' representatives noted that investor interest is directly linked to the judiciary's performance.

It was stressed that all reforms - of the civil, criminal and administrative process - are important to business.