Caretaker Government Approves Key Draft Laws In Relation to the Recovery and Resilience Plan

The Council of Ministers has approved two draft laws under the Recovery and Resilience Plan, concerning the establishment of a new anti-corruption commission and improvements to the mechanism for the independent investigation (of crimes allegedly committed by) the Prosecutor General. This was announced by caretaker Justice Minister Andrey Yankulov following the caretaker's government meeting on April 16.

The measures are key to unlocking the second and third payments under the plan, which have been delayed. Among the main changes are the introduction of automatic or mandatory judicial review of certain prosecutorial acts, as well as the creation of the role of a supervising prosecutor to exercise oversight and control over the activities of the Prosecutor General. The way in which the new anti-corruption commission will be formed is also being changed.

Andrey Yankulov, caretaker Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Minister, said: “The key change envisaged in the draft law adopted today by the Council of Ministers concerns the way this body will be constituted. In order to guarantee its independence and political neutrality, it is proposed that the majority in the new anti-corruption commission be formed by bodies of a non-political nature. In other words, the general assemblies of the Supreme Court of Cassation, the Supreme Administrative Court and the Supreme Bar Council will appoint three of the five members of the commission. The other two will be selected – one by the National Assembly and one appointed by the President.”

Desislava Kulelieva, BNT

Maria Nedina, caretaker Deputy Prime Minister for European Funds, said: “The funds that will be withheld in relation to the two laws amount to €357 million for the anti-corruption reform and €109 million for the Prosecutor General reform. At present, everything is in the hands of the National Assembly, which I hope will promptly convene the relevant committees and adopt the necessary reforms in order to prevent the loss of nearly half a billion euros.”