Brussels on the US sanctions on Bulgarians: We expect convictions for high-level corruption

The European Commission is aware of the US decision to impose sanctions on certain Bulgarian citizens. This was said in response to BNT by a spokesman for the institution on June 3.

According to him, the Commission is closely monitoring the situation in Bulgaria and the events will be reflected in the next report on the rule of law, which will be presented in July.

The European Commission reminded that the American sanctions do not apply to the EU. They affect the territory of the United States. The European version of the Magnitsky law, which was adopted late last year, cannot be applied to European citizens. The EU has its own regulations on corruption and the rule of law, the EC spokesman said.

Brussels commented that Bulgaria still has unfinished business and expects convictions for high-level corruption.

"The European Commission is aware of the US decision to impose sanctions on certain Bulgarian citizens. As we have said before, it is important that events in Bulgaria do not change the course of progress. The country must complete the implementation of the recommendations from the report of the Mechanism for Cooperation and Verification, which we made in 2019. There is still unfinished work. An important element in this report was the continuation of cooperation with the Council of Europe bodies in order to overcome any remaining shortcomings in the Bulgarian anti-corruption framework and the effective investigation of crimes. Bulgaria needs to establish a solid series of definitive convictions in high-level corruption cases. The European Commission will continue to monitor these developments closely in the context of the annual rule of law report," EC spokesman Christian Wiegand said.