site.btaJustice Minister Tsacheva: EC's Goals for Bulgaria Are Attainable

Brussels, July 19 (BTA correspondent Nikolay Jeliazkov) - Bulgaria's Justice Minister Tsetska Tsacheva commented that the lifting of the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism (CVM) depends on Bulgaria's track record in implementing the European Commission's recommendations. "The goals are attainable, we are expected to deliver results," Tsacheva told Bulgarian reporters in Brussels where she met with EC Vice-President Frans Timmermans and European Commissioner for Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality Vera Jourova.

The CVM, introduced when Bulgaria joined the EU in 2007, encourages and monitors progress in the judicial reform and the fight against corruption and organized crime.

Tsacheva explained that a report drawn up by the Justice Ministry had identified progress in meeting the requirements. "The report has convinced me that the December deadline [for measures planned for 2017] will be met. However, there are measures scheduled for the whole of 2018," said Tsacheva.

Meeting with Timmermans, the Justice Minister discussed the government's new anti-corruption bill and the deadline for introducing it in Parliament. The deadline for its adoption is the year's end, and the first results can become a fact by the end of 2018, she said.

Tsacheva told the European Commissioners that anonymous alerts and reverse burden of proof will not feature in the new bill because earlier bills failed on this account twice. The EC representatives are considerate enough not to interfere and have not reacted specifically to this. "What they expect is a single body to start work so that Bulgaria can make material progress in the fight against organized crime and high-level corruption," said Tsacheva.

She commented: "Promulgating a law without obeying the letter and the spirit of the law would not produce the desired result. All the provisions must work; this is where the human factor comes in. It is not enough to have a well-written law, we should also apply it well."