Report from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on Bulgaria's progress on accompanying measures following Accession
Date: 2007-06-27
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Bulgaria, EU aid, EU policy, agreement (EU), cooperation policy, fight against crime, judicial reform

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 27.6.2007 
COM(2007) 377 final 

REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION 
TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL 

on Bulgaria's progress on accompanying measures following Accession 

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REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION 
TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL 

on Bulgaria's progress on accompanying measures following Accession 

1. 

INTRODUCTION  

1.1. 

Context 

When Bulgaria entered the EU on 1 January 2007, special provisions were made 
to  facilitate  and  support  its  smooth  accession  while,  at  the  same  time, 
safeguarding the proper functioning of EU policies and institutions. 

As required of all Member States, on joining the EU, Bulgaria took on the rights 
and obligations of membership. As is normal practice, the Commission monitors 
the  application  of  law  (the  acquis  communautaire)  to  ensure  that  these 
obligations are being met.  

In addition, in line with the arrangements made for those countries which joined 
the EU in 2004, provisions were made in the Accession Treaty for safeguards and 
transitional  arrangements  (for  example,  restrictions  on  free  movement  of 
workers,  on  access  to  road  transport  networks;  provisions  on  veterinary, 
phytosanitary  and  food  safety  rules).  The  Accession  Treaty  made  clear  that  if 
there  are  serious  shortcomings  in  the  transposition  and  implementation  of  the 
acquis  in  the  economic,  internal  market  and  justice  and  home  affairs  areas, 
safeguard measures can be taken1 for up to three years after accession. 

Bulgaria's  accession  was  also  accompanied  by  a  set  of  specific  accompanying 
measures, put in place to prevent or remedy shortcomings in the areas of aviation 
safety, food safety, agricultural funds and judicial reform, fight against corruption 
and  organised  crime.  For  the  latter  a  Cooperation  and  Verification  Mechanism 
was established, setting out benchmarks to provide the framework for monitoring 
progress in this area2.  

This  mechanism  was  put  in  place  because  of  the  fundamental  importance  of 
having  a  well  functioning  administrative  and  judicial  system  to  ensure  that 
Bulgaria would be able to deliver on all the obligations as well as to benefit from 
the  rights  of  membership.  It  also  reflects the  need,  inter  alia  to  fight  corruption 
and  organised  crime.  The  purpose  of  the  Cooperation  and  Verification 
Mechanism  is  to  ensure  that  measures  are  taken  to  provide  assurance  to 
Bulgarians  and  to  the  other  Member  States  that  administrative  and  judicial 
decisions and practices in these areas in Bulgaria are in line with the rest of the 
EU.  Progress  on  judicial  reform,  fight  against  corruption  and  organized  crime 

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Articles 36, 37 and 38 of the Act of Accession. 
Commission  Decision  2006/929/EC  of  13  December  2006  establishing  a  mechanism  for  cooperation 
and verification of progress in Bulgaria to address specific benchmarks in the areas of judicial reform 
and the fight against corruption and organized crime (OJ L 354, 14.12.2006, p. 56). 

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will allow Bulgarian citizens and business to enjoy the rights they are due as EU 
citizens. Without irreversible progress on judicial reform, fight against corruption 
and organized crime Bulgaria runs the risk of being unable to correctly apply EU 
law.  

The  Commission  was  asked  to  report  on  these  accompanying  measures  on  a 
regular basis. In the case of the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism, reports 
were requested on a six monthly basis, starting in June 2007. This report presents 
a  comprehensive  overview  of  the  state  of  play  on  the  accompanying  measures 
and is the first report on the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism. It looks at 
all areas in which accompanying measures were put in place focusing on judicial 
reform and the fight against corruption and organised crime. 

1.2.  Methodology 

This  report  has  been  drawn  up  from  an  array  of  information  sources.  The 
Bulgarian  Government  has  been  a  primary  source  of  information.  Information 
and analyses were also received from the EC Representation Office and Member 
State  diplomatic  missions  in  Bulgaria,  civil  society  organisations,  associations 
and expert reports. The Commission organised missions to Bulgaria during April 
2007, under the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism. They were supported 
by  individual  experts  from  Member  States  and  Commission  services.  The 
purpose  was  to  seek  independent  assessment  of  progress.  The  experts  drew  up 
reports  which  subsequently  were  transmitted  to  Bulgaria  for  correction  of  any 
factual inaccuracies. 

Bulgaria submitted a first report on progress achieved under the Cooperation and 
Verification  Mechanism  on  31  March  2007  and  has  continued  to  update  the 
Commission on pertinent developments since then.  

2. 

ACCOMPANYING MEASURES: STATE OF PLAY 

Accompanying  measures  for  Bulgaria  cover  agricultural  funding,  food  safety,  air 
safety,  judicial  reform  and  the  fight  against  corruption  and  organised  crime.  This 
chapter briefly examines developments in the first three areas, elements of which are 
also subject to separate reporting requirements. Progress in the areas of judicial reform 
and the fight against corruption and organised crime is assessed in Chapter 3. 

Further information is provided in annex on the state of play of safeguard clauses and 
other  provisions  in  these  areas.  Given  the  established  implementation  structures  and 
reporting  mechanisms  in  the  agriculture,  animal  health  and  food  safety  and  aviation 
areas,  these  subjects  will  not  be  covered  in  the  future  in  this  horizontal  report.  If 
further decisions are needed in these areas they will be taken on an individual basis in 
accordance with the rules governing these sectors. 

2.1. 

Agricultural funds 

For  agricultural  funds,  Member  States  are  obliged  to  have  accredited  and 
efficient  paying  agencies  to  ensure  the  sound  management  and  control  of 
agricultural expenditure. Member States are also required to operate an integrated 
administration and control system (IACS) for direct payments to farmers and for 

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parts  of  rural  development  expenditures  (in  order  i.a.  to  avoid  fraudulent 
practices and irregular payments). If Member States fail to operate such control 
systems properly, the Commission decides ex-post on financial corrections on an 
annual  basis.  Given  the  risk  that  IACS  would  not  function  properly  from  the 
point  of  Bulgarian  accession  was  too  high,  the  Commission  established  a 
safeguard mechanism that could be applied to Bulgaria if the elements of IACS 
(integrated administration and control system) or the other elements necessary to 
ensure  the  correct  payment  are  not  set-up  or  are  seriously  deficient.  The 
that  IACS  related  expenditure  could  be 
safeguard  mechanism  foresees 
provisionally  reduced  by  25%.  The  main  concerns  related  to  IACS  were  the 
connection  between  farm  register  and  the  LPIS  (land  parcel  identification 
system),  administrative  capacity  and  logistics  and  the  quality  of  data  recorded. 
An  audit  mission  carried  out  in  June  confirmed  that  Bulgaria  has  made  further 
progress  in  implementing  different  elements  of  the  IACS.  However,  further 
efforts  and  rapid  action  is  required,  in  particular  in  order  to  ensure  that  the  on-
the-spot checks are carried out in the coming months in an effective manner. A 
further  audit  mission  to  Bulgaria  is  scheduled  for  the  last  week  of  June.  This 
audit  will  check  whether  the  paying  agency  is  properly  functioning  and  will 
follow-up  certain  IACS  related  issues.  Based  on  these  audits  and  on  the 
Ministerial Declaration submitted by the Bulgarian authorities end of March the 
Commission will assess whether the elements of the IACS have been set up and 
are operational. Decisions on whether it is necessary to apply safeguard measures 
(which could potentially entail a reduction in IACS related expenditure) will be 
taken  based  on  the  results  of  the  audit  and  on  the  Ministerial  declaration 
submitted by the Bulgarian authorities. 

2.2. 

Aviation Safety 

Concerning aviation safety, Bulgaria has verified deficiencies regarding its weak 
administrative  capacity  in  regulation,  supervision  and  oversight  of  carriers  and 
organisations  involved  in  the  continued  airworthiness  and  maintenance  of 
aeronautical  products.  Various  verification  visits  since  2005  have  shown  that 
Bulgaria  was  not  capable  of  applying  neither  Community  nor  Joint  Aviation 
Authority  (JAA)  rules  on  the  safety  of  aeronautical  products  and  maintenance 
organisations.  Nor  was  Bulgaria  able  to  exercise  its  supervisory  obligations  in 
line  with  international  (ICAO),  JAA  or  EC  standards.  Consequently  safeguards 
were  applied  in  December  2006.  This  means  that  since  1  January  2007  a) 
Bulgarian carriers do not enjoy the status of community carriers and continue to 
operate with third country status and b) safety certificates issued by the Bulgarian 
authorities  do  not  enjoy  the  benefits  of  mutual  recognition  within  the  EC. 
However,  Bulgaria  remains  fully  bound  by  all  obligations  stemming  from  the 
relevant Community rules. Bulgaria has started to improve its capacity in safety 
oversight  and  took  precautionary  safeguard  measures  itself  in  February  2007, 
withdrawing the certificate of four cargo carriers, suspending the certificate of a 
fifth and applying restrictions to a sixth in view of their deficiencies in the area of 
safety  of  operations  and  it  deregistered  over  160  aircraft  as  they  were  not 
compliant with EC rules. 

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2.3. 

Animal Health and Food Safety 

In  the  area  of  veterinary  and  animal  health,  transitional  measures  concerning 
swine fever have been taken and eradication plans have been approved. A review 
of these efforts is planned for September 2007. The Commission has also adopted 
transitional  measures  in  the  meat  and  milk  sectors.  Only  a  limited  number  of 
establishments  are  authorised  to  send  their  products  to  other  Member  States. 
Specific measures have been adopted for raw milk. 

3. 

JUDICIAL REFORM AND THE FIGHT AGAINST CORRUPTION AND ORGANISED CRIME  

3.1. 

Summary overview 

Reform of the judiciary and the fight against corruption and organised crime has 
been closely monitored under the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism. The 
follow up provides a summary analysis and a detailed explanation of progress in 
relation  to  the  benchmarks  under  the  Cooperation  and  Verification  Mechanism. 
The detailed explanation is structured on actions which were used as indicators of 
progress towards meeting benchmarks. 

Bulgaria has made progress in varying degrees in meeting the benchmarks set out 
in  the  Cooperation  and  Verification  Mechanism.  It  is  important  to  see  these 
benchmarks as representing more than a checklist of individual actions that can 
be ticked off one by one. They are all interlinked. Progress on one has an impact 
on  others.  Each  benchmark  is  a  building  block  in  the  construction  of  an 
independent, 
judicial  and  administrative  system.  Creating  and 
sustaining such a system is a long term process. It involves fundamental changes 
of a systemic dimension. The benchmarks cannot therefore be taken in isolation. 
They need to be seen together as part of a broad reform of the areas at stake– for 
which  a  long  term  political  commitment  is  needed.  Greater  evidence  of 
implementation  on  the  ground  is  needed  in  order  to  demonstrate  that  change  is 
irreversible.  

impartial 

The  Bulgarian  Government  is  committed  to  judicial  reform  and  cleansing  the 
system of corruption and organised crime. In all areas, the Bulgarian authorities 
demonstrate good will and determination. They have prepared the necessary draft 
laws,  action  plans  and  programmes.  However,  the  real  test  can  only  be  met 
through  determined  implementation  of  these  actions  on  the  ground  every  day. 
There is still a clear weakness in translating these intentions into results. Bulgaria 
has  stepped  up  efforts  at  the  highest  levels  in  the  fight  against  corruption  and 
organised  crime.  While  recognizing  these  efforts,  much  remains  to  be  done. 
Progress in the short time since the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism was 
set up is still insufficient. 

Deeply  rooted  problems,  notably  organised  crime  and  corruption  require  the 
irreversible  establishment  and  effective  functioning  of  sustainable  structures  at 
investigative and enforcement level capable of sending strong dissuasive signals. 
In  addition,  the  structural  changes  which  are  needed  impact  on  the  society  at 
large and require a step change which goes much beyond the mere fulfilment of 
the  benchmarks.  This  requires  a  strong  long  term  commitment  by  Bulgaria  and 

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can  only  be  successful  if  the  strict  separation  of  the  executive,  legislative  and 
judicial power is respected.  

3.2. 

Assessment 

3.2.1.  Benchmark 1: Adopt Constitutional amendments removing any ambiguity regarding 

the independence and accountability of the judicial system 

Bulgaria  adopted  constitutional  amendments  which  ensure  the  independence  of 
the judiciary and provide for the creation of an independent judicial inspectorate 
to monitor the integrity of the judiciary and follow-up on complaints.  

It  is  too  early  to  assess  the  effectiveness  of  these  amendments  given  that  the 
inspectorate has not yet been set up. 

Bulgaria  has  largely  met  this  benchmark  by  adopting  the  Constitutional 
amendment.  It  will  not  be  possible  to  assess  the  effectiveness  of  the 
amendment  in  removing  ambiguity  regarding  the  independence  and 
accountability  of 
full  adoption  and 
judicial  system  until 
implementation of the necessary implementing legislation providing for the 
establishment of the independent judicial inspectorate (see also benchmarks 
2 and 3).  

the 

the 

Detailed Assessment 

•  The National Assembly to adopt amendments to the Bulgarian Constitution 

The  Constitutional  amendments,  which  aimed  to  clarify  any  ambiguity  with 
regard to possible interference by the Minister of Justice with the independence 
of  the  judiciary,  were  adopted  when  the  necessary  ¾  majority  of  the  National 
Assembly passed the 4th amendment to the Constitution on 2 February 20073. 

The  Constitutional  amendments  might,  as  with  any  other  amendment,  be 
reviewed  by  the  Constitutional  Court  and  legislation  and  administrative  acts 
these  Constitutional  amendments  can  be  challenged  as 
pursuant 
unconstitutional in the ordinary way. 

to 

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The amendments are as follows. Article 84 has been amended so that the National Assembly receives 
and  adopts  the  annual  reports  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Cassation,  the  Supreme  Administrative  Court 
and  the  Prosecutor  General,  on  the  enforcement  of  laws  and  the  activities  of  each  respective  judicial 
institution. These reports are then submitted to the National Assembly by the Supreme Judicial Council 
(SJC).  Under  Article  130,  the  SJC  is  now  explicitly  entrusted  with  power  over  the  appointment, 
promotion, removal, discipline and qualifications of the judiciary. Article 130a no longer provides for 
the Ministry of Justice to inspect arrangements regarding the institution, progress and closing of cases. 
Instead,  new  Article  132a  provides  for  an  independent  Inspectorate,  within  the  SJC,  to  monitor  the 
activity  of  judicial  bodies  both  proactively  and  on  complaint  from  citizens,  legal  entities  and  state 
authorities,  including  members  of  the  judiciary.  The  effective  immunity  of  the  judiciary  from  legal 
action has been removed (not related to execution of official duties). Now the judiciary are "immune" 
only  in  relation  to  acts  committed  in  the  performance  of  their  official  duties,  and  not  for  publicly 
actionable criminal offences committed with intent. 

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•  The National Assembly to make necessary changes to the Judicial System Act 

The Judicial System Act (JSA) is not yet enacted (see assessment under second 
bullet point of benchmark 2). 

•  The  Inspectorate  to  be  set  up  and  functioning,  first  results  to  be  published  and 

evaluated  

The  Inspectorate  will  be  established  after  the  JSA  is  enacted  (see  assessment 
under benchmark 3). 

3.2.2.  Benchmark 2: Ensure a more transparent and efficient judicial process by adopting 
and  implementing  a  new  judicial  system  act  and  the  new  civil  procedure  code. 
Report  on  the  impact  of  these  new  laws  and  of  the  penal  and  administrative 
procedure codes, notably on the pre-trial phase 

The first chapters of the new judicial system act were adopted in mid June and 
hence it is too early to be able to report on its implementation. It would appear to 
address  concerns  about  the  independence  and  staffing  of  the  Supreme  Judicial 
Council  and  its  inspectorate.  Adoption  of  the  civil  procedure  code  is  still 
pending.  A  monitoring  system  for  the  new  penal  procedure  code  and  the  new 
administrative procedure code has been set up to facilitate uniform application of 
law.  However,  there  has  been  no  systematic  reporting  on  the  findings  of  this 
monitoring mechanism.  

Overall, Bulgaria has achieved some progress in improving the transparency 
of the judicial process but more time is needed to be able to assess whether 
the new laws will have their intended impacts. 

Detailed Assessment 

•  Adopt the new Civil Procedure Code 

The Civil Procedure Code is not yet enacted. 

A draft was approved by the Council of Ministers in May 2006 and submitted to 
the  National  Assembly.  Some  articles  are  undergoing  a  second  reading. 
Bulgarian authorities expect the Code to be adopted by the Parliament by the end 
of July 2007.  

•  Adopt the new Judicial System Act reflecting the amendments to the Constitution 

and the recommendations of the peer review experts  

The JSA is not yet enacted. The Parliament has just approved at second reading 
the first chapters of the new JSA on 14 June 2007. The text is not available yet. 

A  working  group  composed  of  representatives  of  the  SJC  was  set  up  after  the 
adoption of the fourth amendment to the Constitution. The draft JSA it prepared 

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was approved by the Council of Ministers in March 2007 and passed first reading 
in National Assembly in April4. 

Discussions  are  continuing  within  the  National  Assembly  but  already  several 
prominent Bulgarian magistrates, as well as Twinning project advisers and other 
experts have voiced concern about several aspects of the current draft:  

– 

– 

– 

– 

– 

the status of the SJC: the recently adopted articles of the JSA establish 
the SJC as a permanent body; 

Inspectorate  to  the  SJC:  an  overlap  of  functions  with  those  of  the 
Inspectorate to the Ministry of Justice exists5 and should be avoided; 

the  criteria  for  becoming  a  judge,  prosecutor  or  investigator  do  not 
require  candidates  to  be  trained  for  several  months  at  the  National 
Institute  of  Justice  nor  undertake  a  period  with  a  mentor  judge, 
prosecutor or investigator; 

in  cases  of  promotion,  no  competitive  exams  are  required  to  judges, 
prosecutors  or  investigators.  The  assessment/evaluation  process  is 
conducted by practicing magistrates - members of the SJC’s Committee 
on  Proposals  and  Assessment  of  the  Quality  of  Judges’,  Prosecutors’ 
and Investigators’ work. 

equally  at  concern  is  the  risk  that  rights  and  obligations  of  openness 
currently provided for both the public to be informed of the work of the 
judiciary  and  the  obligation  imposed  on  the  judiciary  to  be  open, 
accessible  and  transparent  in  their  action,  could  be  overrode  by  the 
restrictions  on  access  to  information  about  judicial  decisions  currently 
authorised by the Ministry of Justice regulations. 

These criticisms and concerns raise questions as to whether the partially adopted 
JSA  would  fully  meet  the  required  judicial  system  reform  and  would  require 
further  consideration  if  it  is  to  increase  the  rule  of  law  and  the  efficiency  and 
accountability of the judicial system and law enforcement bodies. 

•  Establish a monitoring system for all new codes  

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The  current  draft  JSA  has  22  parts  and  runs  to  377  articles.  It  regulates  in  detail:  (a)  the  status  and 
powers  of  the  SJC;  (b)  the  status  and  powers  of  the  Inspectorate  within  the  SJC;  (c)  the  status  and 
powers of the Inspectorate, under the supervision of the Ministry of Justice (among their functions are 
to  inspect  the  activity  of  the  public  and  private  execution  agents,  to  check  the  judicial  administration 
and to support the Minister of Justice in drafting proposals for interpretative decisions and rulings) (d) 
the  criteria  and  procedure  for  assessment  of  magistrates;  (e)  the  scope  of  the  legal  interpretation 
functions of the Supreme Courts; (f) the functions of the prosecutors’ office in compliance with the new 
Penal  Procedure  Code;  (g)  the  competition  principles  in  recruitment  and  appointment  procedures  for 
positions in the judicial bodies; (h) the disciplinary responsibility of magistrates, including in the case 
of a breach of ethic rules. 
In  particular,  both  Inspectorates  check  the  organisation  of  the  court's  administrative  activity  and 
summarize  the  information  about  the  cases  completed  by  the  judges,  prosecutors  and  investigators 
(Articles 58(1) and 69(1) of the draft JSA). 

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Penal Procedure Code (PPC): The monitoring of the impact of the PPC, which 
entered into force in April 2006, is well established.  

Members  of  the  monitoring  group  are  high  representatives  from  the  SJC, 
Supreme Court of Cassation (SCC), Supreme Administrative Court (SAC), other 
Courts,  Public  Prosecution  Office  (PPO),  the  National  Investigation  Service 
(NIS),  Ministry  of  Justice  and  Ministry  of  Interior.  The  group  is  headed  by  the 
deputy Minister of Justice and its deputy chair is the deputy Minister of Interior. 

The  monitoring  group  receives  information  from  various  sources  –  heads  of 
regional,  district  and  appellate  courts  and  prosecutors’  offices,  the  judicial 
inspectorate and the National Police Service etc. – and has issued seven opinions 
on the provisions of the PPC since the end of 2006. The aim of these opinions is 
to contribute to a more uniform judicial practice on penal cases. These opinions 
are  published  on  the  web  site  of  the  Ministry  of  Justice  and  SJC  and  are  also 
communicated to practicing magistrates via meetings, conferences, etc. 

The assessment by the monitoring group and barristers of the PPC is positive. 

Administrative Procedure Code (APC): Monitoring has just begun, as important 
provisions of the new APC only entered into force on 1 March 2007. The criteria 
for  monitoring  the  APC  have  been  adopted.  These  criteria  focus  on  protecting 
rights, enhancing good governance, and improving the speed and effectiveness of 
decision-making. 

There is not yet a reporting on the results of the monitoring. 

Civil  Procedure  Code  (CPC):  Monitoring  of  the  CPC  awaits  enactment  of  the 
legislation. 

•  Report at regular intervals on the findings of this monitoring process, notably as 

regards the pre-trial phase, the execution of judgements and sentences 

So far the only material available is in relation to the monitoring of the PPC. The 
monitoring group of the PPC partially fulfil the reporting obligation. A report of 
March  2007  entitled  “Analysis  of  the  Implementation  of  the  Penal  Procedure 
Code in Respect of the Efficiency of Pre-trial Proceedings” demonstrates that the 
implementation of the new PPC leads to improvements, particularly with regard 
to  the  acceleration  of  the  pre-trial  phase.  A  statistical  report  covering  criminal 
cases in 2006 has been drawn up. Nevertheless, no systematic regular reporting 
mechanism on the findings of the monitoring process has been put in place so far.  

The monitoring of the CPC awaits enactment of the legislation and the APC one 
has just begun. Hence, no regular reporting on the findings of those monitoring 
processes can be reported and progress is limited so far. 

•  Amend the relevant codes and legislation if necessary 

The  opinions  issued  by  the  monitoring  group  of  the  PPC  helped  to  iron  out 
difficulties and ensure a uniform approach throughout the country. As a follow-
up, Bulgarian authorities identified the need for amendments of the PPC in five 
respects: (1) strengthening police capacity to ensure efficiency and speed in pre-

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trial  proceedings  (2)  extending  the  investigation  period  from  two  months  to  six 
months,  with  a  possibility  for  a  further  extension  of  six  months;  (3)  allowing  a 
police  officer  who  has  investigated  a  case  to  testify  in  court;  (4)  allowing 
undercover officers to testify in court by video-conference; (5) removing the need 
for  certified  witnesses  to  participate  in  carrying  out  procedural  actions  on  pre-
trial proceedings. 

In  addition  to  these  five  issues,  another  suggested  amendment  in  criminal 
procedure by Bulgarian authorities concerns the conferral of additional powers to 
investigating  magistrates  (sledovateli),  now  that  responsibility  for  investigating 
most crime has been transferred to the police investigators. The argument is that 
these  magistrates  are  a  wasted  national  resource  who  could  usefully  be  used  to 
investigate  business  crime,  juvenile  crime  and  other  specific  areas.  Bulgaria 
underlines  that  this  would  not  amount  to  a  reversal  of  previous  measures  since 
these judicial investigators would only be used for concrete, specific tasks clearly 
determined and limited in time. The use of former judicial investigators to help 
the  current  police  investigators  could  have  a  positive  effect,  in  particular  to 
reducing  the  current  workload  and  ensuring  that  cases  are  addressed  within  a 
reasonable  time,  provided  that  it  is  used  as  a  temporary  measure  and  only  in 
specific, clearly defined cases to avoid the possibility of this leading to a partial 
reversal of the introduced reforms.  

Bulgaria  expect  amendments  to  the  PPC  to  be  part  of  the  autumn  legislative 
programme of the Parliament 

In  April,  Parliament  already  conclusively  adopted  amendments  to  the  Penal 
Code, including increased penalties for certain types of serious crime, which aim 
to bolster the deterrent function of the penal legislation6. 

3.2.3.  Benchmark  3:  Continue  the  reform  of  the  judiciary  in  order  to  enhance 
professionalism,  accountability  and  efficiency.  Evaluate  the  impact  of  this  reform 
and publish the results annually 

The  judicial  inspectorate  as  key  supervisory  institution  of  the  integrity  of  the 
judiciary  still  has  to  be  established  under  the  impending  Judicial  System  Act 
(JSA). Therefore, only limited progress can be reported with respect to achieving 
better accountability of the judiciary. First steps have been taken by applying the 
code  on  ethical  behaviour  and  enforcing  disciplinary  sanctions  for  indicted 
prosecutors.  Progress  has  been  made  by  Bulgaria  in  terms  of  the  recruitment 
procedure  and  performance  evaluation  of  magistrates.  These  efforts  need  to  be 
maintained  and  amplified.  The  National  Justice  Institute  launched  a  number  of 
training sessions on the new procedural codes involving an important number of 

6 

In  particular,  inciting  prostitution  will  be  punishable  by  a  term  of  imprisonment  of  up  to  5  years 
(previously 3 years) and a fine of BGN 3 000-10 000 (compared to BGN 1 000-3 000). The penalty for 
such a crime, when ordered by an organised criminal group, or when the victim is a person under 18, or 
mentally  disturbed, or  in  conditions  of dangerous recidivism,  is  2-8  years (previously  6  years) with a 
fine of BGN 5 000-15 000. Causing or inducing a person to use narcotic drugs or similar substances for 
the  purpose  of  acts  of  prostitution,  under  such  conditions  will  be  punishable  by  10-20  years 
imprisonment and a fine of BGN 100 000-300 000 (previously 5-15 years and BGN 10 000-35 000). 

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judges, court clerks and prosecutors. Computer-based random allocation of cases 
is to become common practice.  

Overall,  some  progress  has  been  achieved  in  enhancing  accountability, 
professionalism and efficiency of the judiciary in Bulgaria. 

Detailed assessment 

•  Establish  a  transparent  and  fully  functioning  decision  making  process  on 
disciplinary  investigations  by  the  future  Inspectorate  with  the  Supreme  Judicial 
Council  

In  the  absence  of  the  Inspectorate  under  the  JSA,  no  progress  can  be  reported. 
However, the removal of the constitutional immunity of the judiciary following 
the adoption of the 4th amendment to the Constitution has facilitated disciplinary 
action in three recent cases where the Prosecutor General proposed disciplinary 
measures  against  top  prosecutors.  The  SJC's  decisions  to  suspend  the  two 
arrested  prosecutors,  against  whom  penal  proceedings  on  charges  of  corruption 
had  been  initiated,  confirm  the  Prosecutor  General’s  proposals.  Following 
appeals,  one  case  has  been  considered  by  the  SAC,  which  confirmed  the  SJC 
decision in March 2007. 

•  Ensure  complete  and  overarching  application  of  the  Code  of  Ethics  for 
and 

investigation 

procedures 

review, 

for 

magistrates, 
dismissal/prosecution for violations 

especially 

The  Code  of  Ethics  for  Bulgarian  Judges,  dated  13  December  2003,  is  a  short 
document  of  four  pages,  with  seven  articles,  drawn  up  by  the  Bulgarian 
Association  of  Judges  and  approved  by  the  SJC.  Breaches  by  judges  and 
prosecutors  which  give  rise  to  criminal  liability  are  referred  to  the  Prosecutor 
General, while sanctions for other breaches are imposed by the Supreme Judicial 
Council. The machinery of enforcement is still heavily complaint driven although 
once  the  Inspectorate  is  established  the  essential,  proactive  arm  should  be 
available. 

The  Code  has  not  been  reviewed  since  then  to  ensure  that  it  addresses  ethical 
problems arising in practice from its application. 

•  Monitor the application of the system of competitive examination for recruitment 

and performance evaluation of magistrates 

The Bulgarian report sets out the details of eight competitions and five upcoming 
ones - some national, including the national competition for appointments to the 
new  Administrative  Court.  This  appears  to  be  a  success.  Of  the  new  judges  a 
considerable number were recruited from practising lawyers, which indicates the 
openness of the procedure and also the importance of this avenue for recruitment 
for  the  judiciary.  Bulgarian  authorities  indicate  that  there  were  only  three 
complaints received from those not appointed. 

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•  Annually publish findings of the evaluation of the reform of the judicial system, in 
particular  on  how  specific  problems  related  to  professionalism;  accountability 
and efficiency have been addressed 

The Ministry of Justice has produced a document “Report on the Execution of the 
Programme  for  Implementation  of  the  Strategy  for  Reform  of  the  Bulgarian 
Judicial System in the Period January 2006 through March 2007” reiterating their 
commitment  to  improving  the  judicial  system  to  make  it  accessible,  transparent 
and capable of protecting rights7. 

Assessment of this part of the Benchmark is not conclusive on the sole basis of 
this  document.  Notably,  it  is  not  possible  to  confirm  whether  objectives  and 
priorities  have  been  achieved  and  whether  the  principles  (transparency, 
accessibility etc.) detailed, at the outset, will be met. 

•  Introduce random case handling software in the Prosecution services  

Random  case  allocation  to  judges  by  computer  is  said  to  be  operational  in  all 
courts by Bulgaria. 

Computer allocation of cases in the prosecution service is currently used in three 
offices,  including  the  main  office  in  Sofia.  Elsewhere  allocation  of  cases  to 
prosecutors is manual. Bulgaria plans to have the computer software installed by 
the end of 2007 so random allocation in prosecution offices matches that in the 
courts. 

•  Enhance the training on the implication of these new laws 

The National Justice Institute has carried out an active programme of training on 
the new laws since December last year. 

For the new Civil Procedure Code 19 training sessions took place for a total of 
530 judges, court clerks and other participants from all over the country. 

For the Administrative Procedure Code the Institute offered 7 training sessions to 
both  newly  appointed  and  experienced  judges  working  in  the  administrative 
courts. 

The National Institute of Justice also conducted 10 training seminars on the new 
Penal Procedure Code for 327 judges, prosecutors, investigators and "doznateli". 
It  also  held  4  seminars  for  a  total  of  67  participants  to  train  the  trainers  on  the 
new Penal Procedure Code. 

7 

The  document  contains  an  explicit  statement  of  principles  –  the  rule  of  law,  independence  of  the 
judiciary, protection of individual rights and application of European judicial standards. The document 
is  then  divided  into  eight  parts  (strengthening  the  judicial  capacity  and  improvement  of  the 
administrative  activity  of  the  judiciary;  effective  involvement  of  Bulgaria  in  the  EC  judicial 
cooperation;  strengthening  the  capacity  of  the  Supreme  Judicial  Council  for  the  management  of  the 
judicial system etc.) Each part has a short objective and then the rest is divided into short term priorities 
(until end 2006) and mid-term priorities (until end 2007). 

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12 

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3.2.4.  Benchmark 4: Conduct and report on professional, non-partisan investigations into 
allegations  of  high-level  corruption.  Report  on  internal  inspections  of  public 
institutions and on the publication of assets of high-level officials 

Several committees attached to the National Assembly, the Council of Ministers 
and  the  Supreme  Judiciary  Council  carry  the  responsibility  of  the  fight  against 
high-level  corruption  in  the  Bulgarian  public  institutions.  An  implementation 
programme  to  fight  corruption  has  been  adopted.  However,  the  programme's 
implementation lacks clear lines of responsibilities and an efficient coordination 
mechanism.  This  makes  it  difficult  to  sustain  action  at  all  levels  of  the 
administration and the executive. It remains unclear whether measures to protect 
potential  whistleblowers  have  been  effectively  implemented  and  therefore  more 
legislation is needed. Some progress with investigation on pre-trial level has been 
achieved - also by the recently formation of independent inspectorates. A system 
to  verify  asset  declarations  of  high  public  officials  was  set  up  in  January  2007. 
But,  there  is  little  evidence  of  rigorous  and  systematic  judicial  follow-up  on 
allegations of high-level corruption.  

Overall, progress achieved in the judicial treatment of high-level corruption 
cases in Bulgaria is still insufficient. 

Detailed assessment 

•  Associate Member States' experts to provide assistance and guidance as regards 

improving the quality of investigations and reporting on this 

Numerous  programmes  and  contacts  involving  other  Member  States  take  place 
on  a  continuous  basis,  including  with  Twinning  project  advisers  and  police 
liaison officers, who report improvements. It remains to be seen whether this has 
resulted in an increase of the quality of investigations.  

•  Streamline  and  coordinate  the  institutional  set-up  of  bodies  empowered  to  fight 

corruption 

Anti-corruption  efforts  are  coordinated  by  the  “Council  of  Coordination  of  the 
Fight  against  Corruption”,  which  was  established  in  April  2006.  This  Council 
convenes  representatives  from  the  three  key  anti-corruption  bodies:  i)  the 
Commission for Counteracting Corruption in the National Assembly; ii) the Anti-
Corruption  Committee  at  the  Council  of  Ministers;  and  iii)  the  Anti-Corruption 
Committee  of  the  Supreme  Judicial  Council.  The  Parliament's  administration 
supports the Coordination Council organisationally and technically. It meets on a 
monthly basis to discuss both strategic and operational matters, including specific 
cases. 

In March 2007 a report on the Implementation of the Program to the Strategy for 
Transparent  Management,  Prevention  and  Counteraction  Corruption  for  2006 
was  adopted,  together  with  a  Strategy  Implementation  Plan  for  2007.  It  is 
however difficult to ascertain at this early stage to which extend the coordination 
has  added  value  to  investigations  and  exactly  which  results  this  increased 
coordination has produced. 

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13 

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Considering  the  three  anti-corruption  commissions  at  the  different  branches  of 
government (executive, legislative, and judiciary), an Inspectorate General at the 
Council of Ministers, and inspectorates at the different government ministries and 
prosecuting  authorities,  it  remains  unclear  who  bears  the  ultimate  operational 
responsibility for the results of the fight against corruption.  

Clear responsibility and coordination between institutions in their efforts to fight 
corruption  is  key  to  effective  implementation  of  anti-corruption  policies.  There 
consequently  remains  a  clear  need  to  optimise  the  work  of  the  different  anti-
corruption units, particularly in terms of management style and decision-making. 

•  Establish administrative arrangements to safeguard whistle-blowers 

A  draft  whistle-blowing  Act,  the  “Law  on  the  Protection  of  Workers  and 
Employees Reporting Cases of Abuse of Power and Corruption” has been drafted 
under  the  auspices  of  the  Ministry  of  State  Administration  and  Administrative 
Reform,  with  the  input  of  British  experts.  The  law  has  not  yet  been  tabled  for 
Parliamentary  approval,  as  some  of  the  highest  Bulgarian  authorities  doubt 
whether the law would have any added value, given that most of the safeguards 
provided in the law are already provided in other pieces of Bulgarian legislation, 
such as the Administrative Procedure Code and the Civil Servants Law. 

Sustained  effective  measures  to  implement  the  current  legislative  framework  to 
protect potential whistle-blowers can not be confirmed. 

•  Implement  fully  the  legislation  on  the  independence  of  the  inspectorates  in  the 
public administration and ensure more pro-activeness in their investigative role 

The  “Law  for  the  Administration”  provides  the  legislative  framework  for  the 
establishment of Inspectorates within the State Administration. Each Ministry is 
required  to  establish  an  Inspectorate,  which  shall  be  directly  subordinate  to  the 
Minister8.  A  General  Inspectorate  has  been  established  within  the  Council  of 
Ministers9. 

In addition to the Inspectorates within each Ministry and the General Inspectorate 
of the Council of Ministers, the Ministry of State Administration also houses the 
State  Administration  Inspectorate  Directorate,  which  inspects  and  controls 
matters related to the implementation of the civil service legislation (recruitment, 
promotion,  dismissals,  payment,  etc.  of  public  officials).  To  coordinate  the 
Inspectorates established in the Ministries, the General Inspectorate has issued a 
set  of  methodological  instructions.  In  a  few  (3-4)  instances,  the  General 

8 

9 

The Inspectorates have the mandate to: i) analyse the efficiency of the state administration’s activity; ii) 
examine  the  observance  of  internal  rules  for  the  organisation;  iii)  initiate  disciplinary  proceedings  in 
cases  of  violations  of  official  duties  and  of  the  Code  of  Conduct  for  employees  of  the  State 
Administration;  iv)  conduct  checks  of  the  signals,  requests  and  the  complaints  against  illegal  or 
improper actions or inactions of public employees; v) perform other functions of administrative control. 
The General Inspectorate  reports directly  to  the  Prime  Minister  and has  the  mandate  to:  i)  coordinate 
and support the activities of the Inspectorates; ii) suggest instructions on method to the Inspectorates; 
iii)  examine  indications  of  conflict  of  interest  and  other  violations  of  official  duties;  iv)  examine 
indications  of  corruption  within  the  executive  power  and  civil  service;  v)  perform  other  functions  as 
determined by the regulations by the Council of Ministers or assigned by the Prime Minister. 

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14 

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Inspectorate has been approached by Ministry Inspectorates to mediate conflicts 
within  a  Ministry.  In  these  cases,  the  General  Inspectorate  forwards  a 
recommendation  to  the  Minister  in  question,  and  according  to  the  General 
Inspectorates,  their  recommendations  are  usually  followed.  In  its  report,  the 
Bulgarian Government provided information on the number of checks conducted 
by  the  various  administrative  structures  and  the  number  of  disciplinary 
proceedings  initiated.  Nevertheless,  details  on  the  level  and  positions  of  those 
officials  against  whom  disciplinary  proceedings  have  been  initiated  remain 
unclear. 

The  independence  of  the  inspectorates  is  stipulated  in  the  Law  on  the 
administration.  Their  functions  and  powers  are  specified  in  the  Rules  of 
Procedure of the respective administrations. All Ministry Inspectorates report to 
the  Minister  and  rely  on  the  Ministry  for  their  budgets.  The  control  over  the 
bodies  of  the  executive  power  (ministers,  executive  directors  of  executive 
agencies,  chairpersons  of  state  agencies  and  commissions,  etc.)  is  exercised  by 
the  Chief  Inspectorate  Directorate,  which  is  directly  subordinate  to  the  Prime 
Minister of the Republic of Bulgaria. 

•  Report on the implementation of measures taken to prevent and fight influence in 
the  investigation  and  prosecuting  entities,  in  particular  sustain  cases  of 
suspension/dismissal/initiation  of  criminal  proceedings  against  alleged  corrupt 
law enforcement bodies 

The  Bulgarian  authorities  claim  that  a  number  of  both  preventive  and  control 
measures  are  being  undertaken  throughout  the  Ministries.  However,  the  real 
impact  of  the  various  measures  remains  to  be  seen  whereas  a  number  of 
administrative  measures  have  been  taken,  information  on  criminal  proceedings 
initiated and concluded could not be verified. From the information provided it is 
also  not  clear  how  many  of  these  cases  are  attempts  to  assert  influence  on 
corruption investigations and how such cases are handled. 

•  Ensure the establishment of a credible checking mechanism for asset declarations 

as well as effective sanctions in case of false or inaccurate declarations 

Since  January  2007,  following  amendments  to  the  Law  on  Publicity  of  the 
Property Owned by Persons Occupying High State Positions of September 2006, 
high level officials are to submit asset declarations by 30 April each year, with an 
additional month period allowed for the correction of any errors. 

The declarations are then reconciled with information held on a register in other 
authorities such as the Ministries of Finance, Transport, Agriculture and Forestry, 
Regional  Development.  The  National  Audit  Office  is  responsible  for  the 
coordination of the asset declarations, the checking against the registers and the 
imposition  of  fines  for  non-compliance.  The  reconciliation  checks  must  be 
completed by 31 October each year. Any irregular declaration is to be reported to 
the  National  Revenue  Agency  for  inspection.  If  potential  criminal  activity  is 
identified  consultation  of  the  Prosecutor  General  takes  place.  The  declarations 
and any subsequent actions are published on the National Audit Office website. 

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15 

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This  mechanism  complements  the  preventive  and  deterrent  elements  of  the 
National Anti-corruption Strategy and enables the public to compare declarations 
with lifestyles. However, the effect of the mechanism cannot be measured until a) 
all the declarations have been submitted and b) all the declarations are checked 
and the necessary measures have been taken10. 

3.2.5.  Benchmark 5: Take further measures to prevent and fight corruption, in particular at 

the borders and within local government 

Bulgaria has successfully stepped up its efforts to curb corruption at some border 
stations  with  an  increased  number  of  preventive  controls  and  sanctions.  The 
establishment  of  electronic  payment  systems  and  a  system  of  random  shifts  at 
some  border  stations  have  contributed  to  a  decline  of  corruption  opportunities 
and  to  increased  revenue.  This  good  practice  should  be  extended  to  all  border 
stations. Specific training and corruption awareness measures aimed at the local 
transparency  and 
administration  coupled  with 
simplification  have  started  to  produce  results.  However,  no  data  on  the 
prosecution  of  corruption  cases  at  the  level  of  local  government  was  provided. 
Financial investigations by the National Audit Office have started, but pro-active 
investigations into inexplicable wealth are not yet common practice.  

increased  administrative 

Overall,  substantial  progress  has  been  achieved  in  preventing  and  fighting 
corruption at the border and within local government. 

Detailed assessment 

•  Implement  disciplinary  sanctions  and  a  policy  of  zero-tolerance,  particularly  in 
the  Veterinary  Service,  the  customs,  the  Road  Executive  Agency  and  other 
relevant services 

Bulgarian  authorities  have  increased  efforts  to  impose  control  and  apply 
sanctions  in  the  relevant  services  and  the  steady  decline  in  acts  of  corruption 
among  the  Border  Police  Officers  observed  in  2006  has  been  maintained.  The 
ambitious  efforts  of  the  Ministry  of  State  Administration  and  Administrative 

10 

So  far,  106  out  of  all  the  359  registered  political  parties  and  their  affiliates  submitted  their  financial 
reports to the National Audit Office. The 253 parties that failed to submit financial reports lose the right 
to receive state subsidiary and cannot participate in both national and local elections. 
The  National  Audit  Office  published  on  20  April  on  its  Internet  site  a  list  of  persons  who  have  not 
submitted initial property declarations after assuming office, as well as a list of persons who have not 
submitted  property  declarations  upon  dismissal,  within  the  legally  prescribed  terms.  816  assuming 
office  declarations were  submitted  in  the  legally  prescribed  terms.  Eight  assuming  office  declarations 
were not submitted in time (of members of managing and supervisory bodies of political parties) as well 
as 2 final (when releasing from position) declarations - of investigators. 
Administrative-penal proceedings have been initiated against the persons who have not submitted their 
declarations within the legally prescribed terms. The Chairman of the National Audit Office has sent the 
list of the persons who have not submitted their declarations within the specified terms to the Executive 
Director  of  the  National  Revenue  Agency  in  order  to  take  measures  under  Tax-Insurance  Procedure 
Code. 
The deadline for submitting the annual property declarations of persons occupying high state positions 
expired  on  30  April.  As  of  15  May  the  National  Audit  Office  has  processed  5 515  declarations  and 
notifications. The final number of the processed annual declarations and notifications will be presented 
when the deadline for changes in the submitted declarations expires. 

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Reform, regional and local authorities are remarkable in this regards. Apart from 
inspections  through  the  Inspectorate,  the  Border  Police  Directorate  General  is 
implementing  the  rotation  principle.  The  same  applies  to  border  veterinary 
inspectors, the Customs Agency and the National Revenue Agency. Spontaneous 
inspections  are  carried  out  together  with  inspections  following  indications  of 
Border checkpoints11; video-cameras have been installed in workplaces, leaflets 
in English and Bulgarian are disseminated to people entering the country; when 
necessary,  information  on  the  charges  for  preventive  disinfection  of  motor 
vehicles  is  provided  at  border  Veterinary  Control  Inspection  Points;  systematic 
training is organised for newly appointed employees and senior civil servants, as 
well as psychological surveys to evaluate the risk of corruption, and all detected 
cases are publicised for future prevention. 

While Bulgaria reports that disciplinary measures are applied12, their impact can 
not  be  measured,  as  information  on  positions  and  seniority  of  the  officials 
involved  has  not  been  provided  so  far  by  the  Bulgarian  authorities.  Moreover, 
only  a  few  criminal  proceedings  have  been  instigated,  and  there  have  been  no 
convictions of corruption related crimes in any of the relevant services. 

•  Establish electronic payment systems and a system of shifts at random for officers 

employed at the borders 

In July 2006, Bulgaria introduced an electronic payment system on a pilot basis 
at  the  Lesovo  border  checkpoint,  with  a  view  to  reducing  cash  payments  and 
corruption  risks.  This  electronic  payment  system  is  being  extended  to  all  road 
border  checkpoints  at  the  EU  external  borders.  The  positive  outcomes  of 
electronic payment  system at the  Lesovo border should hence be generalised to 
all road borders in order to produce sustained effects. 

A  system  of  random  allocation  of  shifts  is  operational  for  the  border  guards. 
Software for determining shifts of border police officers is also available at some 
border  crossing  checkpoints.  It  remains  to  be  extended  to  all  cross-borders 
checkpoints. 

•  Conduct  at  regular  intervals  audits  and  checks,  publish  the  findings  and  ensure 

their follow-up 

The National Audit Office (NAO), supported by regional and local audit offices 
(6  territorial  branches  and  28  offices  throughout  Bulgaria)  conducts  financial 
control  of  all  public  entities  including  the  local  governments  and  checks  every 

11 

12 

Statistical evidence concerning the suspicion of corrupt civil servants and the subsequent investigations 
by the authorities, provided to the expert delegated by the European Commission in April at the border 
checkpoint, Kapitan Andreevo, suggests improved quality of investigations. 
The  Bulgarian  authorities  adopted  a  report  on  the  implementation  of  the  Strategy  for  Transparent 
Governance and for the Prevention and Counteraction of Corruption for 2006, which states that, of the 
121 measures listed in the 2006 Action Plan, 94 have been implemented and 27 are still in the process 
of  implementation,  expected  to  be  completed  by  mid-2007.  It  is  not  known  exactly  which  measures 
have  and  which  have  not  been  implemented.  The  Bulgarian  report  also  states  that  a  plan  for  the 
implementation  of  the  Strategy  for  2007  has  been  approved.  However,  no  such  document  has  been 
officially presented so far.  

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17 

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tender,  including  subsequent  monitoring.  The  results  are  regularly  published  on 
the internet. 

Bulgaria reports that 6 audits are currently in progress since January 2007, and 8 
audits are to be concluded by December 2007. 

•  Report on investigations into inexplicable wealth 

At  present,  investigations  into  inexplicable  wealth  cannot  be  instigated  unless 
they  are  linked  to  a  criminal  offence  or  a  substantial  ‘signal’.  A  check  of  bank 
accounts  or  tax  declarations  for  this  purpose  is  not  allowed  without  a  link  to  a 
criminal offence. Investigations into inexplicable wealth therefore do not exist as 
such and are not registered nor reported by Bulgarian authorities. 

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18 

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3.2.6.  Benchmark  6:  Implement  a  strategy  to  fight  organised  crime,  focussing  on  serious 
crime,  money  laundering  as  well  as  on  the  systematic  confiscation  of  assets  of 
criminals. Report on new and ongoing investigations, indictments and convictions in 
these areas 

Bulgaria  is  implementing  an  updated  action  plan  on  organised  crime  which 
focuses  on  judicial  enforcement  as  well  as  pre-trial  sanctions  and  prevention 
measures. Judicial cooperation with other Member States in this area is extensive. 
Bulgaria  is  also  involved  in  a  considerable  number  of  assistance  projects 
covering  different  aspects  of  organised  and  serious  crime.  However,  an 
evaluation  of  the  impact  of  the  strategy  is  inconclusive  given  the  absence  of  a 
measurement  methodology  and  reliable  statistics.  Data  that  would  allow  the 
evaluation of the judicial treatment of cases is patchy or inadequate. In addition, 
legal prosecution of alleged contract killings is still insufficient. Concerns remain 
also in relation to institutional capacity to pursue the forfeiture and confiscation 
of criminal assets.  

Overall,  progress  in  the  fight  against  serious  and  organised  crime  is  still 
insufficient. 

Detailed assessment 

Information provided by the Bulgarian authorities on the fight against organised 
crime, although increasing, remains imprecise. 

Legal  tools  for  the  implementation  of  the  organised  crime  strategy  have  been 
adopted: the Council of Ministers adopted an updated Action  Plan on the  Fight 
Against  Organised  Crime  in  January  2007,  but  substantial  information  on  how 
these are applied is lacking. 

•  Associate Member States' experts to provide guidance and assistance as regards 

improving the quality of investigations and reporting on this 

Successful joint operations have been conducted in the field of organised crime 
and  particularly  in  countering  drug-related  crime.  Bulgaria  reports  that  since 
September 2006, 15 joint operations were conducted with the police of Spain, the 
Netherlands, France, Romania, Portugal and Turkey. Bulgarian authorities report 
that  three  organised  crime  groups  responsible  for  trafficking  in  women  for  the 
purpose  of  sexual  exploitation  have  been  dismantled.  Three  persons  were 
detained  pursuant  to  a  European  Arrest  Warrant  and  one  European  Arrest 
Warrant was issued by the Bulgarian judicial authorities. 

The  Bulgarian  law-enforcement  authorities  work  jointly  with  experts  from  the 
other  EU  Member  States  to  combat  different  aspects  of  serious  and  organised 
crime. Joint projects with Member States, as well as 9 PHARE twinning projects 
are  being  implemented.  A  former  Dutch  Prosecutor-General  is  working  as  an 
advisor in the office of the Bulgarian Prosecutor General. In April 2007, a French 
advisor began work at the Ministry of the Interior on strengthening the capacity 
of  the  General  Police  Directorate  and  improving  the  activities  in  the  area  of 
combating organised crime. 

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Specified  results  have  also  been  reached  in  the  fight  against  crimes  related  to 
abuse of EU funds. Investigations are in progress. 

•  Hand over an action plan to implement the strategy to fight organised crime and 

implement it with reports at regular intervals 

The updated Action Plan on Combating Organised Crime covering the period up 
to  the  end  of  2007  is  being  implemented.  Its  main  objectives  are:  a)  targeting 
criminal  proceedings  against  leaders  of  organised  crime  groups;  b)  enforcing  a 
pro-active  approach  in  countering  organised  crime;  c)  curbing  the  economic 
resources of organised crime groups; d) forfeiture of criminal assets. 

The Bulgarian authorities refer  to significant  achievements in implementing  the 
action plan. Nevertheless, assessment of such achievements  remains difficult as 
there  are  no  regular  reports  relating  to  the  outputs  resulting  from  specific 
implementation of the actions plan. 

•  Fully implement relevant legislation on confiscation of assets of criminals 

Established by the Law on the Forfeiture of Criminal Assets two years ago, the 
Commission for the Identification of Criminal Assets, has only recently had the 
capacity  –  not  yet  used  in  practice  -  to  effectively  impose  measures  to  restrain 
and  confiscate  criminal  assets  following  referral  from  the  investigators.  The 
Commission can identify criminal assets, impose measures for freezing of assets 
or launch a court procedure.  

The  Commission  do  not  have  permanent  accommodation  so  far  and  have  114 
vacancies from a staffing complement of 294.  

Several  cases  have  been  forwarded  for  Court  procedures.  Property  and  money 
under  investigation  is  frozen  for  the  duration  of  the  investigation,  but  no  final 
confiscation  has,  to  date,  been  carried  out  as  the  court  proceedings  are  to  be 
finalised first, which can not be expected before 2 to 3 years after the initiation of 
proceedings. 

•  Report  regularly  and  audit  internally  the  new  and  on-going  investigations, 

indictments and convictions 

A stable tendency of sustained decrease in crimes against the person is registered 
by  Bulgaria.  Nevertheless,  statistical  information  provided  by  the  Bulgarian 
authorities fails to clearly define the types of crimes perpetrated, for example, in 
relation  to  murders  –  statistics  provided  mix  up  domestic  murders  with  those 
linked  to  general  criminality  and/or  linked  to  organised  crime,  particularly 
contract killings. Information on the progress of investigations in organised crime 
cases is lacking. Fine-tuning is needed for proper assessment. 

‘Contract killings’ continue to be of great concern, and in particular most recent 
killings of local politicians since January. To date, no prosecution and conviction 
has taken place. 

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Recent  scandals  involving  high-level  officials  in  the  executive  and  judiciary  in 
Bulgaria  will  be  a  key  test  of  the  efficiency  of  the  mechanisms  put  in  place  to 
investigate and effectively punish related grand-corruption/organised crimes. The 
recent  resignation  of  a  Minister  in  connection  to  an  on-going  investigation  on 
alleged corruption should be considered as a positive sign. 

The  real  tangible  measure  of  success  remains  the  number  of  successful 
prosecutions and convictions. 

•  Publish the findings of these audits 

No reporting mechanism has been put in place so far. 

•  Implement the new legislation to combat money laundering 

The  Bulgarian  Penal  Code  was  amended  in  2006  to  clarify  that  offences 
committed abroad can constitute relevant predicate crimes for money laundering 
in  Bulgaria  and  that  a  previous  conviction  for  the  predicate  offence  is  not 
required to prosecute money laundering. Moreover, the Prosecutor General was 
given the right to request information to banks without the need to obtain a court 
order,  in  cases  involving  money  laundering  and  organised  crime.  Other  actions 
are  in  process  to  further  improve  money  laundering  defenses.  These  measures 
will have the potential to further enhance the effectiveness of enforcement. 

The Bulgarian authorities report some improvements in this area, mentioning in 
particular that the Supreme Cassation Prosecutor’s Office completed the work on 
54  pre-trial  proceedings  linked  to  organised  crime  and  money  laundering.  A 
further  37  indictments  were  submitted,  5  convicting  sentences  for  money 
laundering were delivered and 81 tax audits were completed against members of 
organised  crime  groups  as  well  as  natural  persons  and  legal  entities  related  to 
them. 

However,  it  is  too  early  to  assess  these  improvements  in  concrete  terms.  They 
need  to  be  confirmed  first.  Moreover,  additional  measures  are  required  or  in 
preparation13. 

4. 

FOLLOW UP UNDER THE COOPERATION AND VERIFICATION MECHANISM 

Concerning  judicial  reform  and  the  fight  against  corruption  and  organised  crime, 
Bulgaria should continue to move towards meeting the benchmarks and in particular, 

13 

In particular, a draft bill amending the Law on Measures against Money Laundering was approved by 
the Council of Ministers on 30 November 2006. The draft requires all banks and e-cash companies to 
provide  additional  information  on  operations  and  transactions  where  money  laundering  is  suspected. 
The proposed amendments are designed to align the regulatory framework with the Credit Institutions 
Act,  which  became  effective  on  1  January  2007.  The  amendments  are  still  under  discussion  in 
Parliament.  Bulgarian  authorities  are  also  working  on  the  transposition  of  the  EU  third  anti  money 
laundering Directive. 

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•  Extend  the  monitoring  systems  for  the  new  Judicial  System  Act  and  Procedural 
Codes following the adoption and implementation of the Judicial System Act and 
the Civil Procedures Code and report regularly on the results of this monitoring. 

•  Ensure  that  the  Inspectorates  within  the  Supreme  Judicial  Council  function 
properly;  mainstream  pilot  activities  of  computer  based  random  allocation  of 
cases and carry further evaluation activities and training of judges and prosecutors 
in ethical behaviour. 

•  Demonstrate results within the anti-corruption  framework.  Bulgaria  should  build 
on  progress  achieved  on  the  investigative  side  and  strengthen  its  efforts  to 
increase  awareness  among  the  judiciary  for  the  importance  of  legal  finality  and 
dissuasive  jurisdiction  in  cases  of  high-level  corruption.  This  includes  cases  in 
which influential and well-known personalities are indicted. 

•  Provide independent analysis, a convincing methodology and reliable and targeted 
statistics  to  assess  whether  high  level  corruption  cases,  street  killings  as  well 
organised  crime  cases  are  properly  investigated  and  dissuasive  judgments  are 
rendered.  There  should  be  no  let  up  in  prevention  and  prosecution  measures.  In 
addition,  progress  must  be  monitored  and  reported  in  a  comprehensive  and 
conclusive way. 

•  Strengthen efforts and political commitment to implement the action plan against 
organised  crime  and  report  in  a  transparent  fashion  on  activities  undertaken. 
Bulgaria should also further deepen its international cooperation in this area. 

•  In order to achieve the above, strengthen the capacity of the judiciary at all levels, 

including professionalism, independence, resources and powers. 

The  Cooperation  and  Verification  Mechanism  will  continue  to  be  used  to  monitor 
progress  in  Bulgaria.  In  order  to  facilitate  cooperation  and  verification,  it  would  be 
useful  for  the  Bulgarian  authorities  to  prepare  an  action  plan,  with  milestones,  by 
October 2007 showing how Bulgaria intends to meet the benchmarks. The plan should 
be  based  on  a  coherent  strategy  in  fighting  organised  crime  and  corruption  and  a 
credible  plan  to  strengthen  professionalism,  independence,  powers  and  resources  of 
the  judiciary.  Improved  and  refined  statistics  and  information  systems  on  corruption 
and  organised  crime  cases  and  their  follow-up  by  the  judiciary  would  also  facilitate 
efforts  under  the  Cooperation  and  Verification  Mechanism.  It  is  important  that  the 
Bulgarian  authorities  foster  an  open  dialogue  with  Bulgarians  by  enhancing 
transparency  on  reforms  undertaken  under  the  Cooperation  and  Verification 
Mechanism. 

4.1. 

Support 

Support will be provided to assist Bulgaria in its efforts to reform the judiciary 
and  combat  organised  crime  and  corruption.  This  will  involve  focusing  and 
targeting  existing  EC  funding  under  the  different  programmes  available  to 
Bulgaria  on  support  for  institution  building  and  training  programmes  related  to 
judicial reform and the fight against organised crime. 

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The  European  Commission  invites  the  other  Member  States  to  step  up  their 
assistance  and  valuable  practical  support  to  Bulgaria  by  cooperating  with  the 
Bulgarian  authorities  in  joint  investigative  teams  on  corruption  and  organised 
crime,  sharing  financial  intelligence  and  methodologies,  seconding  experts  and 
advisors to key ministries and bodies (such as the future Inspectorates under the 
Judicial  System  Act  or  the  Supreme  Judicial  Council)  and  providing  high  level 
training  to  Bulgarian  police,  customs  officers  and  prosecutors  at  their  national 
police and customs academies, schools of magistrates or national justice institutes 
and other centres of excellence for the public service.  

The primordial importance of the principle of rule of law for the EU implies that 
all  actors  –  Commission,  Bulgaria  and  the  other  Member  States-  have  to 
cooperate  to  ensure  that  Bulgaria  is  effectively  reforming  its  judiciary  and 
fighting  crime  and  corruption  at  all  levels.  By  October  2007,  the  Commission 
will  examine  assistance  offered  from  the  Member  States  so  as  to  identify  gaps 
and ensure that a full range of support is provided to Bulgaria. 

5. 

CONCLUSION 

In  the  first  six  months  of  accession,  Bulgaria  has  continued  to  make  progress  in 
remedying weaknesses that could prevent an effective application of EU laws, policies 
and  programmes.  But,  there  has  not  been  sufficient  time  to  demonstrate  convincing 
results  in  key  areas.  Continued  attention  will  need  to  be  paid  to  all  areas  in  which 
accompanying measures are in force. In particular, there is a need to step up efforts in 
the pursuit of judicial reform and the fight against corruption and organised crime. In 
the  light  of  the  analysis  contained  in  this  report,  the  Commission  does  not  consider 
that it is warranted at this stage to invoke the safeguard provisions of the Accession 
Treaty. 

The Commission will continue to work in close partnership with Bulgaria to support 
its  efforts  meeting 
the  benchmarks  under  the  Cooperation  and  Verification 
mechanism.  The  Decision  establishing  the  Cooperation  and  Verification  Mechanism 
provides that the Commission report every six months. The Commission will update 
this  report  at  the  beginning  of  2008.  It  will  prepare  the  next  detailed  report  on  the 
Cooperation  and  Verification  Mechanism  in  mid  2008.  In  order  to  provide  input  for 
that report, Bulgaria should report to the Commission on further progress achieved by 
31 March 2008. 

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ANNEX  

State of play regarding safeguard measures and transitional arrangements  
applicable on Bulgaria 

Economic safeguard clause 

Not applied 

Internal market safeguard clause 

Not applied 

Justice and Home affairs safeguard clause 

Not applied 

Agricultural funds 

a) Safeguard measures 

Not applied 

b) Transitional arrangements 

Commission Regulation (EC) No 1423/2006 of 26 September 2006 establishing a mechanism 
for  appropriate  measures  in  the  field  of  agricultural  spending  in  respect  of  Bulgaria  and 
Romania 

Food safety 

a) Safeguard measures 

Not applied 

b) Transitional arrangements 

Commission  Decision  2006/800/EC  of  23  November  2006  approving  the  plans  for  the 
eradication of classical swine fever in feral pigs and the emergency vaccination of those pigs 
against that disease in Bulgaria 

Commission Decision 2006/805/EC of 24 November 2006 concerning animal health control 
measures  relating  to  classical  swine  fever  in  certain  Member  States  (last  amended  by 
Commission Decision 2007/152/EC of 6 March 2007) 

Commission Decision 2007/16/EC of 22 December 2006 laying down transitional measures 
for intra-Community trade in semen, ova and embryos of the bovine, porcine, ovine, caprine 
and equine species obtained in Bulgaria and Romania 

Commission Decision 2007/26/EC of 22 December 2006 amending the Appendix to Annex VI 
to  the  Act  of  Accession  of  Bulgaria  and  Romania  as  regards  certain  milk  processing 
establishments in Bulgaria 

Commission Decision 2007/29/EC of 22 December 2006 laying down transitional measures 
for  certain  products  of  animal  origin  covered  by  Regulation  (EC)  No  853/2004  of  the 

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European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  introduced  into  Bulgaria  and  Romania  from  third 
countries before 1 January 2007 

Commission Decision 2007/30/EC of 22 December 2006 laying down transitional measures 
for  the  marketing  of  certain  products  of  animal  origin  obtained  in  Bulgaria  and  Romania 
(amended by Commission Decision 2007/264/EC of 25 April 2007) 

Commission Decision 2007/31/EC of 22 December 2006 laying down transitional measures 
as  regards  the  dispatch  of  certain  products  of  the  meat  and  milk  sectors  covered  by 
Regulation (EC) No 853/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council from Bulgaria 
to  other  Member  States  (last  amended  by  Commission  Decision  2007/398/EC  of  11  June 
2007) 

Aviation safety 

Safeguard measures 

Commission Regulation (EC) No 1962/2006 of 21 December 2006 in application of Article 37 
of the Act of Accession of Bulgaria to the European Union 

In  addition  Bulgaria  imposed  itself  on  21  February  2007  restrictions  on  5  cargo  carriers  to 
avoid  their  consideration  in  the  context  of  the  Community  list  of  banned  carriers  and 
withdrew the airworthiness certificates of 160 aircraft not compliant with EC regulations. 

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