site.btaJustice Minister: EC Report Objective, Calls for Rethink of Policies

123 POLITICS - JUSTICE MINISTER - EC REPORT - ASSESSMENT

Justice Minister: EC Report
Objective, Calls for
Rethink of Policies


Sofia, January 28 (BTA) - In a position communicated by his
ministry, Justice Minister Hristo Ivanov said the European
Commission report on Bulgaria's progress in fighting
organized crime and corruption and reforming the judiciary is
objective and calls for a serious rethink of policies and
practices.

Ivanov said the report was an important new step in Bulgaria-EC
partnership within the framework of the Cooperation and
Verification Mechanism. It accurately identifies problem areas
and areas where progress is lacking. Bulgaria is lagging behind
the EU standards for justice, the rule of law, human rights and
corruption-free government, he said.

"Of the few positive findings, we particularly appreciate the
observation that the government has started to name things with
their proper names and that the updated Judicial Reform Strategy
is a detailed plan for ending the stagnation which the report
describes in detail," said Ivanov.

The report refrains from sweeping generalizations, but there are
no grounds for complacency. On the contrary, this is a credit
of confidence which Bulgaria's EU partners and society grant for
a very short term and at a high political interest rate, the
Justice Ministry said.

Ivanov also said: "We should realize that we have until the next
EC report to the EU Council in the summer of 2015 to reform
substantially specific institutions, statutory acts and
policies, as well as the conduct of individuals with political
and administrative responsibilities."

Meglena Kuneva

Deputy Prime Minister for European Policy and Institutional
Affairs Meglena Kuneva called the report "restrained and
objective" and said that the efforts of this government in the
past months and during the last EC mission to Bulgaria have
produced results and were reflected in the final report.

Speaking at a news briefing she held to comment the Commission
report, she noted that the strategy for reforming the judiciary
and the strategy for the Interior Ministry earned positive
marks, while the Supreme Judicial Council got the strongest
criticism: "There has been no progress there and this is bad."
She added that the EC recognized the plans for reforming the
prosecution magistracy "but this is no reason to sit back and
relax".

"This report gives Bulgaria a chance but it will not be the same
next year," she said adding that the monitoring of the
counter-corruption combat and the judiciary will never stop.

European Commission Vice President Kristalina Georgieva, who is
responsible for Budget and Human Resources, said the report took
into account the political insecurity of the last year and a
half which stalled reforms in Bulgaria, including judicial
reform.

The EC appreciates the new government's actions to resolve the
backlog of problems, above all the updated Judicial Reform
Strategy, she said. "But we, like the whole Bulgarian society,
want to see results: an independent, effective judiciary and a
successful fight against corruption. The new Bulgarian
government should make up for lost time and take steps to regain
the confidence of citizens and investors," said Georgieva.

Commenting on the report, Supreme Judicial Council (SJC)
representative Sonya Naydenova said that it provides an
objective review of the condition of the Judiciary and the
State, the reforms in the judicial system, the fight against
corruption and organized crime.

She said that the document could serve the SJC, as well as all
institutions, to unite their efforts, demonstrate stability and
improve trust.

Naydenova said the SJC accepts the recommendations which concern
its responsibilities, admitting that there is more to be
desired in the Council's work.

The SJC representative believes that progress can be made in
partnership with the Executive and Legislature and this will be
reflected in the next report.

According to her, the recommendations concern all institutions
in the State and the SJC's work is not the only subject of
assessment. Naydenova did give a concrete response to the
question whether the SJC will resign, noting that this is merely
a review of the findings and recommendations in the report.