site.btaMore Ambitious Measures Called for in Combatting Corruption in Bulgaria - Greens

Sofia, February 9 (BTA) - The co-chair of the Green/European Free Alliance Group in the European Parliament, Ska Keller, was in Sofia Thursday to present a report on the state of affairs with the fight against corruption in Bulgaria commissioned by Keller's group. At a news conference the group co-chair reconfirmed the report's conclusion that more ambitious measures are called for in combatting corruption in this country as well as across the EU and its institutions.

"Bulgaria has the EU Presidency and there is an opportunity to shine but also to bring scrutiny against corruption," she said. She was adamant that the Greens are also looking into other countries such as Romania and Croatia, and this is not an attack against Bulgaria.

Keller underscored that rule of law and justice are a problem across Europe and not just in Bulgaria. She said the EU has no self-monitoring mechanism, she added.

She declared her position against two controversial projects: for building a new ski gondola in Pirin National Park and throwing a motorway across Kresna Gorge. She said that the Kresna Gorge is a national wealth and there is no way the European Commission will approve financing for a project which violates the European legislation.

The report's author and head of the legal team of Bulgaria's Access to Information Programme, Alexander Kashumov, said the report is the first of its kind for looking into corruption in Bulgaria and the EU.

He underscored the link that is made between corruption and freedom of speech, and noted that Bulgaria has been going down the ratings for both in recent years.

Bulgaria has been fighting corruption for at least 18 years, has made a lot of efforts, including on legislative level and made some progress but a lot of problems remain and a solution is nowhere near in sight. In short, the failures are more serious than the accomplishments, he said adding that even though nearly all necessary laws have been written, Bulgaria is not doing well with their implementation.

Kashumov believes that the EU has proven incapable of monitoring the actions that the member states undertake to prevent and fight corruption, and allows for corruption to seep into certain member states.

The co-chair of the Greens in Bulgaria, Borislav Sandov, said that high-level corruption remains a key factor. The fact that not a single high-level politician has been sentenced for a corruption-related crime proves that there is a symbiosis between crime syndicates and high-level politician representation.