"Well, I've been saying the same for a long time." Thus, Bulgaria’s President Rumen Radev commented on the latest findings of the European Commission for Bulgaria.
On September 30, the Commission presented its first report on the new rule of law mechanism in all Member States. With regard to Bulgaria, the following main findings have been made:
- Judicial reform should be completed, taking into account the opinion of the Venice Commission on the accountability of the Prosecutor General.
- In the fight against corruption - a number of high-level investigations were launched in the first half of 2020 and charges have been brought in a number of cases
- However, important challenges remain, as also illustrated by the perception surveys that show a very low level of public trust in the anticorruption institutions.
- Lack of results in the fight against corruption is one of the key aspects raised throughout the summer 2020 protests.
- The lack of transparency regarding media ownership is a cause for concern. The legal framework against political interference in the media does not explicitly forbid politicians from owning outlets, and links between political actors and some media outlets have been established.
The new instrument of the EC replaces the Co-operation and Verification Mechanism reports, which concerned only Bulgaria and Romania.
In addition to issues related to the rule of law and inter-institutional relations, the new mechanism will also monitor the state of the media, judicial reform, the fight against corruption and freedom of expression in the Member States.
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