site.btaGerman Justice Minister: Bulgaria's Judicial Reform Right on Track

German Justice Minister: Bulgaria's Judicial Reform Right on Track

Sofia, November 21 (BTA) - Germany's Justice and Consumer Protection Minister Heiko Maas welcomed Bulgaria's Justice Minister Ekaterina Zaharieva, who is visiting Berlin, stating his support for her and the Bulgarian government whose judicial reform is right on track, the Bulgarian Justice Ministry said.

Maas added that the two justice ministries were closely cooperating and the German ministry was ready to offer further support where necessary. "We support the Bulgarian government's actions in judicial reform and would like our interaction to continue. You can rely on our full support," Maas said.

Zaharieva detailed her German counterpart on her ministry's law-making initiatives which have already been subject to broad public discussion but have not been debated on first and second reading in Parliament: amendments to the Penal Procedure Code, the Family Code, the Commercial Code, the Penal Code, the Implementation of Penal Sanctions and Detention in Custody Act, and the Legal Aid Act, as well as new legislation, including a bill on the diversion from criminal proceedings and the imposition of corrective measures on juveniles and a bill on natural persons and accommodations. She also briefed him on two adopted packages of amendments to the Judicial System Act which introduce judicial self-governance, new checks on magistrates by the Inspectorate of the Supreme Judicial Council, and a new procedure for appraisals, career growth and disciplinary proceedings.

Maas also said that reforms pose a challenge to all the EU Member States. It is important that they should be in the right direction as is the case with Bulgaria. Judicial reform requires consistent, resolute steps. Zaharieva added: "I am an advocate of evolution, not of revolution."

She thanked Maas for the active participation of a German prosecutor in the technical mission of the Structural Reform Support Service, which has until the year's end to draw up an analysis of the structural and functional model of the Bulgarian Prosecution Office. Zaharieva invited Germany to join possible new technical missions in support of Bulgaria's judicial system, to which European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker referred in a letter to Prime Minister Boyko Borissov.

Zaharieva also elaborated on plans for the introduction of e-justice, for which 35 million leva have been earmarked under Operational Programme Good Governance.

The Bulgarian Justice Minister thanked Berlin for training experts as part of Sofia's preparation to assume the Presidency of the Council of European Union in the first half of 2018. Another Bulgarian expert is expected to arrive for exchange of experience at the Federal Ministry of Justice later this week. Maas pledged any kind of support, including sending staff members to Bulgaria, to help with the preparations for the EU Council Presidency.

The two justice ministers also discussed the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism, the proposal for a Regulation on the establishment of a European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO), and the proposal for a Directive on the fight against fraud to the Union's financial interests by means of criminal law. Bulgaria and Germany concur that the EU needs a strong Public Prosecutor's Office and resolutely support the completion of negotiations on its establishment. The EPPO will top the agenda of the Justice and Home Affairs Council on December 8.