site.btaUPDATED Bulgaria Will Not Have Normal Government until Anti-Corruption Legislation Is Adopted, CC-DB’s Assen Vassilev Says

Speaking to reporters in the corridors of Parliament on Wednesday, Continue the Change (CC) co-chair Assen Vassilev said that Bulgaria will not have a normal government formed until the anti-corruption legislation is adopted.

"In order to have a normal functioning government in this country, we need to clean corruption from the judiciary once and for all. For this to happen, a number of laws have to be passed and regulators need to be replaced by Parliament, and for this a majority is required. Until that happens, regardless of all promises, Bulgaria will not have a normal government," Vassilev said. 

He noted that this crisis had started even before CC was even formed as a party. “This crisis started in 2020. CC was formed as a party after two unsuccessful attempts to elect a government, the third time we appeared and managed to make a government,” Vassilev said.

"We tried twice to move the country forward, it was seen that in economic terms it worked, unfortunately in the main plan that Bulgarian citizens want - justice, it did not work," he explained. "The only way for us to have a sustainable government or to have a normal environment and justice is for this legislation to be passed," Vassilev said.

He said that he expects the inflation criterion to be met in September. The reason for his comment is the data from the latest Eurostat report, which was presented a few days ago. Vassilev said that inflation was above 10 % and is currently at 2.5%. At this rate, continuing for one or two more months, we will enter the reference values, he believes.

Vassilev also commented on the decision of Movement for Rights and Freedoms Co-Chair Delyan Peevski to send a report to the Interior Ministry, the Prosecutor's Office and the State Agency for National Security on the activities of the 49th National Assembly's ad hoc committee investigating corrupt practices in the Customs Agency and the possible role of Vassilev in them as a former finance minister. "All this is a pre-election PR stunt and a cheap "chalga" version of a Hollywood script," Vassilev said.