The judicial reform in Bulgaria and measures undertaken by institution for its irreversibility were at the heart of a working meeting between Prime Minister Boyko Borissov and EC First Vice-President Frans Timmermans. The meeting was held in Varna and was attended by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Rumiana Bachvarova and Minister of Justice Hristo Ivanov.

Prime Minister Borissov pointed out that the Judicial Reform Strategy proposed by the government had been approved in Parliament by a wide majority. According to him, that demonstrated the will of political forces to achieve sustainable change in an area that Bulgarian citizens, EU Partners, and investors believe does not correspond to the level of democratic development of Bulgaria. Borissov reminded that recently a draft law on amendment and supplementation of the Constitution, aiming to ensure the irreversibility of the reforms, had been submitted to the National Assembly.

According to the Prime Minister, the desire for change in the justice system was visible among judiciary officials and the government was working in cooperation with them on specific legislations. As an example he gave the adopted amendments to the Criminal Procedure Code, proposed by the Attorney General, for purpose of preventing the accused party from absconding. Borissov informed Timmermans that the specialized unit, comprised of the Prosecutor’s Office, the State Agency for National Security, and the Ministry of Interior, tasked to investigate crimes committed by persons occupying high state positions had been operating for two months already.The Prime Minister also highlighted the draft laws on the single anti-corruption unit and amendments to the Judiciary System Act, both undergoing public discussion.

EC First Vice-President Frans Timmermans pointed out that the political will in Bulgaria was evident in Brussels. Timmermans commented that the government was heading in the right direction, taking the right steps to achieve stability, with the right team. He emphasized that the EC realized how difficult the balance between preserving the independence of the judiciary and at the same time eradicating corruption within the system was.

Prime Minister Borissov highlighted the anti-corruption strategy adopted by the cabinet, as well as the appointment of a deputy prime minister as a national anti-corruption policies coordinator. He emphasized the establishment of a National Council on Anti-Corruption Policies with control functions in the development and implementation of policies in the field of corruption prevention and counteraction.

A Civil Council will monitor and control the implementation of the anti-corruption policies and will include NGO and business representatives, as well as independent experts with proven experience in the field of corruption prevention and counteraction.
We have the political will to fight corruption and the results are visible – policy measures taken since the beginning of the year to tackle the informal sector, as well as increased trust of European partners, have led to extra BGN 2.125 billion in the State Budget, Borissov pointed out.

The government’s policy is balanced, with priority to the rule of law, the Prime Minister stressed. He highlighted the good results with respect to the absorption of EU funds. Borissov reminded that at the beginning of its term in office, the government had found suspended EU funds, but had managed to make up for the lost time in only a couple of months through targeted efforts. Borissov expressed confidence that if the cabinet continued to work at an accelerated pace, at least 90% of EU funds for the first programing period of the country would be absorbed by the end of 2015.

During Timmerman’s visit to Varna, the Prime Minister showed him sites reconstructed with European funds.