site.btaEC Assures Bulgaria in Writing CVM Will Be Lifted by 2019

EC Assures Bulgaria in Writing CVM Will Be Lifted by 2019

Brussels, October 28 (BTA correspondent Nikolay Jeliazkov) - European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker has sent a letter to Prime Minister Boyko Borissov assuring him that the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism for Bulgaria will be lifted by 2019, the Commission said.

Juncker writes: "The progress Bulgaria has made over the past years of the CVM would require taking a more dynamic approach to take full account of the longer-term trends which can be lost in annual reporting cycles. Starting from January 2017, we intend to introduce this new approach in our reporting."

Juncker agrees with Borissov's view expressed in an earlier letter that "each institution in Bulgaria needs to have a clear understanding of the steps they need to take to meet the reform goals, while effective implementation of recommendations requires a combination of action across all relevant institutions. "Moreover, Bulgaria's work to address the challenges of corruption and organised crime has been useful to reveal a need for action at different stages: prevention, investigation, prosecution and judicial decision-making," Juncker writes.

The European Commission President notes that the cooperation in place between the Bulgarian Prosecution Office and the Structural Reform Support Service could set an example and a similar approach could be extended to other institutions. "As you suggest, this could concern the judiciary (potentially involving the Supreme Judicial Council or the Inspectorate). Another option would be to assist your government's plans to set up a unified anti-corruption institution."

Juncker says he has asked the Commission's services to get in touch with the Bulgarian administration to follow up swiftly on these ideas ahead of the next report, which is due next January.

He concludes by saying: "I am confident that under your stewardship Bulgaria will continue its reform path and be in a position to exit the programme when the benchmarks are satisfactorily fulfilled so that such decision is taken before the end of the mandate of this Commission in 2019."