Bulgaria's PM to Start Working on EC Suggestions Immediately

Bulgaria's PM Boyko Borisov has announced that the cabinet will start working immediately on the suggestions by the European Commission. Photo by BGNES

Bulgaria's PM Boyko Borisov has announced that the cabinet will prepare a plan for implementation of the EC suggestions for reforms in the country's judicial system.

“We will start following the suggestions from the EC report from tomorrow,” Borisov said Tuesday in Vienna, where he is leading the Bulgarian delegation.

The Bulgarian PM added that he wants to combine the critics from the EC with the critics from the Parliament and prepare a plan for reforms and a deadline for its execution. 

He has also explained that what Brussels needs to know is the specific deadlines and specific tasks that need to be done within these deadlines.

“When Brussels ask when will the Public Procurement Act come into force, I want to be able to tell them that a specific date, on which the Act will be submitted in the Parliament. The respective minister will also have the obligation to be done with the Act by the set deadline,” the PM explained.

Borisov has pointed out that the cabinet will begin the work on the suggestion from tomorrow because,in his words, “one year will pass and then the next report will come”.

The Bulgarian PM has stressed out the importance of the critics, as well as the praises, being read not only in Vienna, but also in Bulgaria.

According to the EC report, published on Tuesday, Bulgaria has established “a strong reform momentum” in judicial reforms and combat against corruption and organized crime, still too few cases are concluded in court.

The commission is still monitoring the progress Bulgaria is making in justice and home affairs through the so-called Co-operation and Verification Mechanism (CVM).

The conclusions in the latest, fourth, annual report the commission has produced under the mechanism say there is a need for improvements of the professional practice within the police, prosecution and courts.

The report was approved by the college of commissioners Tuesday morning and will be presented later in the day.

“Success will require a sustained commitment by Bulgaria, the Commission and other Member States,” says the final text of the report.