EC intends to close the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism for Bulgaria

The European Commission intends to close the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism, which for years has monitored justice and the fight against corruption in Bulgaria and Romania. A letter with such content has already been sent to the EU Council and the European Parliament. This became clear today, July 5, at the presentation of the Annual Report on the Rule of Law in all EU countries. In its recommendations to Bulgaria, the European Commission insists on convictions for high-level corruption and changes in the functioning of the Inspectorate of the Supreme Judicial Council.

The important news for Bulgaria is that the European Commission is launching the final steps towards the definitive closure of the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism, which was used by some countries, such as the Netherlands, as a reason to suspend Bulgaria’s Schengen accession. Today, the Commission is sending letters to the Council and to Parliament, because it is necessary to have their position in order for this mechanism to be definitively closed. For the time being, the monitoring on Bulgaria remains, only within the framework of the annual rule of law report, which applies to all Member States.

The reports were presented on July 5, 2023. With regard to Bulgaria, the report notes the changes made by the National Assembly relating to the criminal responsibility of the Prosecutor General and his deputies, and mentions that these changes were linked to the Recovery and Resilience Plan. It is mentioned that reforms are continuing in the Anti-Corruption Commission, also linked to the recovery plan. As a criticism of the state, there are concerns related to the work of the Supreme Judicial council (SJC), its composition, and especially the inspectorate of the SJC, which, according to Brussels, could be at risk of political influence.

The European Commission continues to insist that Bulgaria must have convictions for corruption in high echelons of power, something that is repeated in the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism. With regard to the media, there are concerns about the concentration of media ownership in Bulgaria, as well as the allocation of state advertising among the media. There are suspicions of dishonesty and lack of transparency. The report also draws attention to the senior administration and the government, and recommends that Bulgaria work even harder to ensure the integrity of senior civil servants and the government.

On the part of the commission, the obstacles to Bulgaria and Romania joining Schengen were removed long ago. The advice to the other countries is to take all the criteria into account and not to concentrate on the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism. It is a good sign that this mechanism will finally be abolished so that it is not used for other purposes.

With regard to the rule of law, Hungary and Poland remain the most problematic countries. That was the purpose of introducing this report in all countries. As regards Hungary, concerns remain about lobbying and transparent public procurement. Media independence is also problematic, and there are concerns that too much influence is being exerted on the editorial policy of the country's media. The European Commission has stopped a large proportion of EU funds to Hungary because of rule of law problems. The dialogue between Brussels and Budapest must continue so that Hungary can continue to receive EU funding.

"We see some progress in Bulgaria on the recommendations from the previous year, you can see that in our report. But we are also aware that the political situation in the country was very complex. If you constantly have elections, it is difficult to get laws and reforms passed in Parliament. We now need to take the next step forward and pass the laws that are necessary. We continue to have recommendations for Bulgaria and I hope that the new political situation in the country will allow the necessary reforms to be made," said Didier Reynders, EU Justice Commissioner.

The full text of the report is available here: