Bulgaria to Follow Romanian Example in Fighting Corruption – Deputy PM

Bulgaria's Deputy Prime Minister Meglena Kuneva announced that the country should follow Romania's example if it wants to tackle corruption successfully.

Kuneva said this after meeting Romania's Chief Prosecutor of the National Anticorruption Directorate Laura Kovesi and the President of the National Integrity Agency Horia Georgescu, private bTV station reports.

The Deputy PM stated that Bulgaria had opportunities to establish identical structures with similar powers in order to tackle corruption.

Kuneva added that it was obvious that the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism (CVM) was yielding success in Romania and Bulgaria could make use of its neighbour's good practices.

She pointed that the structures, which will be tasked with fighting high-level corruption, have to be independent and not be subjected to political pressure.

In her words, the administrative capacity and the investigation of signals for malpractices and the unexplainable enrichment of civil servants, were other key steps towards fighting corruption.

Romania's National Anticorruption Directorate is the body that functions as a specialised prosecution in the fight against corruption, while the National Integrity Agency monitors the material wealth of civil servants, accumulates signals and defines the span of corruption risk.

During their talks with Kuneva, Kovesi and Georgescu presented a detailed information on the functioning and the powers of their respective structures.

It was pointed out that the two structures function with the help of a few well-prepared cadres and support from the European Commission (EC), World Bank and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

The bilateral meetings on learning and application of the Romanian experience in fighting corruption through the two specialised bodies continue next week with the visit of Justice Minister Hristo Ivanov.

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