site.btaEuropean Commission Releases 2015 Report on Progress in Bulgaria under Cooperation and Verification Mechanism

European Commission Releases 2015 Report on Progress in Bulgaria under Cooperation and Verification Mechanism

Brussels, January 28 (BTA) - The European Commission Wednesday
issued its fourteenth report on progress in Bulgaria during the
past twelve months in judicial reform and the fight against
corruption and organized crime, under the Cooperation and
Verification Mechanism (CVM).

A Commission press release quoted EC First Vice-President
Timmermans as saying that "political uncertainties and other
challenges in the past year have made the task of reform
difficult in Bulgaria. Yet it is a positive sign that in a
number of areas, problems have been acknowledged and solutions
are being identified. It's now time to act. The reforms
identified in our report will help gain the confidence of
citizens and of those who want to invest in the country.

Bulgaria is home to talented and hard-working people who want to
 see change happen and take root. The Cooperation and
Verification Mechanism remains a valuable instrument to spur
progress and it is supported by a majority of Bulgarians. Now is
 the time to build political consensus to accelerate reforms".

Overall, progress has been slow in the past year. The fact that
the period covered by this report saw three different
governments and a deadlocked parliamentary situation has clearly
 contributed to a lack of resolve to reform. Taking reform
forward requires acknowledging the problems and identifying
measures to remedy them. In this respect, the current government
 and the Parliament have taken an important step by adopting a
judicial reform strategy setting out directions for future work
in a number of areas. These will need to be followed up and
implemented for change to be convincingly shown, the press
release reads.

Since the Commission's last report in January 2014, some of the
key institutions have continued to develop managerial changes.
This should support the effort to carry reform through into
change on the ground. Examples are the Supreme Judicial
Council's analysis of workload in courts and prosecution offices
 and the implementation of the Prosecutor General's reform of
the prosecution offices, which are now near to completion.

However, on important issues such as ensuring the random
allocation of cases and fair appointments to important judicial
posts, the actions of the responsible national institutions
continue to lack the determination needed to inspire confidence.
 Responses to the well-known problems in area of corruption and
organised crime have remained piecemeal and lacking in overall
strategic direction. There are very few examples where
high-level cases of corruption or organised crime have been
brought to conclusion in court.

The Commission believes that the monitoring process of the CVM,
the opportunities provided by EU funds and the constructive
engagement of the Commission and many Member States continue to
provide valuable support to Bulgaria's efforts. This is an
assessment shared by citizens in Bulgaria: a newly published
Flash Eurobarometer, conducted in November 2014, shows that 79%
of citizens in Bulgaria agree that the EU should have a role in
tackling corruption, organised crime and shortcomings in the
judicial system; 61% of Bulgarians think the EU has had a
positive impact on judicial shortcomings and over 50% believe
that is has had a positive impact on organised crime and on
corruption.

The Commission invites Bulgaria to accelerate progress on its
recommendations on the reform of the judiciary and the fight
against corruption and organised crime. The next formal report
is likely to come in around one year's time.