site.btaProsecutor General Tsatsarov Discusses Implementation of CVM Recommendations During Brussels Visit

Prosecutor General Tsatsarov Discusses Implementation of CVM Recommendations During Brussels Visit

Sofia, May 19 (BTA) - Bulgaria has made an impressive progress under the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism (CVM), said Paraskevi Michou, Deputy Secretary General of the European Commission in charge of Institutional and Administrative Policies, meeting with Prosecutor General Sotir Tsatsarov in Brussels on Thursday.

She said that Brussels has seen its recommendations implemented. She added that still there are certain deficiencies and voiced hope that the competent institutions will take steps to address them.

Michou said that the Bulgarian authorities should join forces with the European authorities so that the Mechanism can be scrapped in a year or two. She gave excellent marks to the work of the prosecution service.

She said that for Brussels it is important that Bulgaria has stopped making mistakes and that the CVM is not a policy nor a policy instrument. She added that the European Commission are realists and when Bulgaria enjoys successes they assess them objectively and fairly.

Deputy Director-General for Justice and Consumers Francisco Fonseca Morillo told Prosecutor General Tsatsarov that Bulgaria is facing a lot of challenges in connection with the presidency of the EU Council in 2018. The upcoming year is important for the establishment of a European Public Prosecutor's Office and the reforms in Eurojust. He added that Bulgaria and the Bulgarian prosecution service are an important partner in these processes.

Tsatsarov told his hosts that the Bulgarian prosecution service is willing to participate with experts in the preparations of a new penal code and a code of criminal procedure. He presented the results with regard to the implementation of the recommendations under the CVM and an independent review of European prosecutors in 2016. On the agenda was the upcoming election of members of the Supreme Judicial College from the prosecutorial quota.

Talks also highlighted the reduction in the number of the prosecution services across the country.