See you next summer

09:21

July

2010

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Time was that for Bulgaria, the measurements involved in a European Commission report were an uncomfortable business.

That was the pre-accession time, when sometimes it seemed that the country either would not make it at all into the EU or would do so only conditionally and on sufferance. But Bulgaria did make it, albeit with the Co-operation and Verification Mechanism (CVM) on justice and home affairs as a regular reminder that the country was not up to scratch in acting against organised crime and corruption.

Circumstances have changed, and so have the Commission’s CVM reports. The fourth in the series, released on July 20, followed up the "making progress but must do better" tones of its predecessor by highlighting "a strong reform momentum which has been established in Bulgaria since the Commission’s last annual report in July 2009".

That was indeed the date of the previous annual report, but also it was the time that Boiko Borissov led his party into power, on a platform of acting against the economic crisis and moreover, against organised crime and corruption.

Review and recommendations
The Bulgarian Government's new strategy for judicial reform demonstrates the existence of a "strong political will to achieve a deep and lasting reform of the judiciary," the European Commission said.

The report recommended that Bulgaria improve judicial practice in order to allow the judiciary to act more pro-actively and to show a stronger sense of responsibility.

Bulgaria had adopted important amendments to the Penal Procedure Code, which aim to improve the efficiency of penal procedures, the report said.

The most pressing reforms to improve the efficiency, accountability and consistency of the judicial process through amendments to the Judicial Systems Act are in the process of consultation within the Government.

At the same time, the European Commission's analysis found important shortcomings in judicial practice both at the level of prosecution and at the level of court.

"The judicial process in Bulgaria lacks initiative and professional capacity. Complex investigations show a lack of direction and purpose, procedures are too formal and too long and often fail in court," the report said.

Bulgaria, the European Commission said, had stepped up efforts to fight organised crime and corruption. The structural set-up of the prosecution to deal with fraud with EU funds and organised crime had been strengthened. Bulgaria had achieved a number of indictments regarding organised crime and high-level corruption. These involved the indictment for high-level corruption of a minister in office, of ex-ministers and top civil servants.

Without naming him, the report made specific reference to the guilty verdicts and sentences of Mario Nikolov and others in embezzling EU funds and laundering the proceeds.

"However, too few cases are concluded in court. Further efforts are needed to improve professional practice of police and the judiciary notably as regards the investigation of complex cases," the report said.

It said that there was a need to improve the protection against fraud and conflict of interest in public procurement. Plans to strengthen legislation on asset forfeiture should be pursued. Protection against conflict of interest should be further strengthened in the revision of the law on the prevention on conflicts of interest and in implementing it, the report said.

In particular, Bulgaria should improve professional practice within the police, prosecution and courts, according to the report. The judiciary should take initiative more often and show a stronger sense of responsibility. Public funds must be better protected against fraud and conflict of interest.

"The Commission will continue to support Bulgaria in this endeavour and provide its next annual assessment of progress in summer 2011," a polite way of confirming that Bulgaria will continue for at least another year to be involved in the CVM.

Reaction
Speaking at a news conference a few hours after the report was made public, Borissov invoked a 2009 election promise, claiming that "we are meeting our commitment to restore the European Commission’s trust in Bulgaria".

In the week beginning July 26, a plan would be adopted on implementing the report’s recommendations, Borissov said. "We accept all the remarks and the recommendations," he said.

Specialist courts would begin to operate in the country as from January 1 2011, he said.

Parliamentary committees who would have to follow up issues raised in the report should prepare draft bills in August, regardless of the summer recess, Borissov said.

In no more than three months, there would be a new Public Procurement Act, and in the light of the report, the capacity of the Public Procurement Agency would be enhanced by increasing its staffing, he said.

He asked that the judiciary and the prosecution carefully read the report and its recommendations. Then, he said, they should spell out what steps they would take to ensure that the shortcomings were removed by summer 2011.

This was said not without a sideswipe at members of the judiciary who had sought to pay themselves 13th and 14th cheques, while it was the judiciary that had attracted the most comments in the report, Borissov said.

source sofiaecho.com