Bulgarian Ethnic Turkish Party Not Upbeat on EC Report

Hristo Biserov, Deputy Chair of the Movement for Rights and Freedoms, says the EC report on Bulgaria is filled with criticism towards the efforts to fight corruption and organized crime. Photo by BGNES

The report of the European Commission on Bulgaria, published Tuesday, has too many recommendations and could not be deemed a source of optimism, according to the opposition ethnic Turkish party DPS.

The statement was made by Hristo Biserov, Deputy Chair of the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (DPS), who says the recommendations simply show the reform efforts of the cabinet of the center-right Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria (GERB) party are fruitless.

According to Biserov, with the latest report on Bulgaria's progress in justice and home affairs through the so-called Co-operation and Verification Mechanism (CVM), the EC is hinting that will is not enough because it must be a productive will and reiterates once again what still needs to be done.

The DPS Deputy Chair is firm the recommendations are valid and points out EC is reminding that many of the ones from last summer are yet to be fulfilled. He, however, does not see the critics as aimed just at the judicial system, saying EC does not observe Bulgaria as a combination of different powers, but as a whole and as a Member State.

Biserov further declared the information EC backs the idea of Interior Minister, Tsvetan Tsvetanov, to establish special tribunals to deal speedily and only with organized crime cases, is a lie.