Vera Jourova to EP: Reforms in Bulgaria must be real, not on paper

The European Parliament's Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs on September 10 heard the Vice-President of the European Commission Vera Jourova on the current state of the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism, which monitors Bulgaria and Romania.

According to her, much work remains to be done and reforms must be real, not on paper. No system is perfect, and the lifting of the mechanism does not mean that the system has become perfect. She added that the first reports on the rule of law across the European Union would be published on September 23rd.

The GERB/EPP group issued a statement yesterday explaining that representatives of Bulgarian or Romanian institutions were not invited to the meeting and would not be present, except MEPs. The EP’s LIBE Democracy, Rule of Law and Fundamental Rights Monitoring Group (DRFMG), which held a closed-door meeting on the situation in Bulgaria at the end of August, is expected to report its findings to the Justice Committee.