Sunday

4th Jun 2023

Bulgaria's corruption problem mars EU presidency start

  • 'I refute this simplistic idea that all Bulgaria is corrupted,' EU Commission president Juncker (l) said in support of PM Borisov (r) (Photo: eu2018bg/Flickr)

Last Friday (12 January), just as Boyko Borisov's government was hosting the European Commission in Sofia's communist-era palace of culture to launch Bulgaria's presidency of the EU Council, domestic politics cast a shadow over the country's efforts to shake off its image of a dysfunctional post-Soviet state.



In a 146 to 80 vote, MPs overruled president Rumen Radev's veto of a new anti-corruption bill, after a debate in which they traded accusations of who was sabotaging the country's fight against corruption.

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Become an expert on Europe

Get instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

"Today, by rejecting the president's veto, our country will fulfil a commitment to the European Commission," said Tsvetan Tsvetanov, the head of the GERB, Borisov's centre-right party.

He said that Radev, an independent, and the main opposition party, the Socialists, were in tandem against Bulgaria.
 But Socialist leader Kornelia Ninova accused the government of "covering up" corruption in the country.

She said that "the president's veto was like the last chance to adjust" the government's policy on the issue.

Radev, an independent politician who was elected in 2016 with the support of the Socialists, had vetoed the anti-corruption bill on 2 January.

He said that the law "not only does not create an adequate legal basis for tackling corruption, but will even make it difficult to fight it".

The text, which was adopted by the parliament on 20 December, establishes a new unit to investigate top officials when there is a suspicion of corruption or conflict of interest.

But critics say that its members would not be independent because they would be appointed by the parliament. They also point out that the unit would be allowed to do wire-tappings, which could be used to pressurise people.

Opponents of the bill also say that whistleblowers would not be protected enough, in particular because they would have to provide personal information.

After the parliament overruled Radev's veto, Ninova said that her party would table a non-confidence vote on Wednesday (17 January) - which has little chance of passing.

Corruption network

The dispute highlights one of Bulgaria's main problems, 11 years after it joined the EU.



Bulgaria is 75th in the annual ranking published by Transparency International (TI), an NGO.

"Corruption remains the universal explanation for all the problems in Bulgaria," said Anthony Galabov, a political scientist who works with TI.

"Saying that corruption is everywhere means that we don't know where corruption lies," he said, adding that "corruption is a process, not an act."

He noted that corruption was "developed in a network", which makes it "very difficult to have an idea of its scale."

The phenomenon has not prevented the Bulgarian economy becoming the fourth fastest-growing in the EU.

But with Sofia and much of Bulgaria booming with brand-new shopping malls, business parks and roads, there are many opportunities for corruption.

"The real place where political corruption is generated is the link between the political offices and the administration," Galabov noted.

He said that corruption starts with "trading with political influence, abuse of power" and is fuelled by "brokers who are interested in having new customers."

A first step to fight corruption, he said, would be to make the funding of political parties and campaigns more transparent.

The government and its supporters, however, argue that corruption is not so widespread.

"Unfortunately that is being used as a political weapon," said Simeon Saxe-Cobourg, a former king of Bulgaria in the 1940s, who was prime minister in 2001-2005.

He helped launch the political career of Borisov, who started working for him as a bodyguard.

"When I hear the generalised word 'corruption'… My God, I have traveled a lot and I still have to find a country that fortunately has no corruption," the former monarch told EUobserver.

He argued that "Bulgaria being a modest economy and a reasonably small country, the chances for huge kickbacks are rather small".

Simeon admitted however that there are kickbacks in Bulgarians' daily life.

'Simplistic idea'

"The guy who gives five leva [€2.50] to a civil servant to do something for him is just as wrong or corrupted as the poor fellow who takes the five leva," he said.

He said that making the law "more efficient and faster, with a big fine as soon as something is found, and not after six years of trial … would wake up [Bulgarians] a lot and eliminate a good amount of corruption."

On Friday, Borisov also got the support of the president of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker.

"I refute this simplistic idea that all Bulgaria is corrupted," he said in a press conference with Borisov, adding that he was satisfied that the Bulgarian government "has made significant progress".

Sofia nevertheless remains under EU pressure to step up the fight against corruption and the reform of its judiciary.

Since it joined the EU in 2007, Bulgaria has been under a special monitoring from the commission, the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism (CVM).

In its latest report, last November, the commission noted that the fight against corruption was "the area where least progress had been made in Bulgaria over the ten years of the CVM."

Schengen decision

In December, EU affairs ministers welcomed "the significant positive steps taken by the Bulgarian authorities" but said that "much still needs to be done, and overall progress now needs to be further accelerated urgently."

Speaking to journalists last week, the minister for the EU presidency, Lilyana Pavlova admitted that "'efforts are needed".



She assured that the government was committed to make them and hoped that the CVM could be ended "at the end of this year".

Exiting the CVM is important for Bulgaria, as it has been set as a political condition by some member states to accept the country in the passport-free Schengen area.

Bulgaria, as well as Romania which has also been under the CVM since 2007, meets the technical requirements over the control of its borders and police cooperation.

Borisov said last week that he hoped that the question of Bulgaria's accession to Schengen would be "solved quite soon".

This article was corrected on 15 January. It stated incorrectly that former king Simeon was prime minister in the 1990s. He was prime minister from 2001 to 2005.

Bulgaria's president vetoes anti-corruption bill

Bulgaria is starting its six-month EU presidency amid attempts to shake off issues of corruption and poor press freedoms. Earlier this week, Bulgaria's president vetoed an anti-graft bill, claiming it was too weak.

Bulgaria to take first steps towards euro

Bulgaria joining the single currency "will not result in any additional risk for the euro system", its finance minister said. The country's lev currency has been pegged to the euro since 1997, making it already highly dependent on ECB policy.

Opinion

How long can Bulgaria keep facing both East and West?

Sofia may be wearing out its welcome with Western democracies by playing both sides - seeking closer integration in Europe while cosying up to Moscow and Beijing, claiming to work towards hitting EU targets while putting its own interests first.

Opinion

What to expect from Bulgaria's EU presidency?

Corruption, organised crime, lack of foreign investment and digital skills make Bulgaria an unlikely standard bearer for the EU during its presidency. But perhaps Sofia can pull it off.

Opinion

EU needs commitment to rights in West Balkans

The European Commission's new West Balkans strategy means well - but it will need serious commitment to respecting the rule of law, not just paying attention when violence flares.

Column

What a Spanish novelist can teach us about communality

In a world where cultural clashes and sectarianism seems to be on the increase, Spanish novelist Javier Cercas (b.1962) takes the opposite approach. He cherishes both life in the big city and in the countryside.

Opinion

Poland and Hungary's ugly divorce over Ukraine

What started in 2015 as a 'friends-with-benefits' relationship between Viktor Orbán and Jarosław Kaczyński, for Hungary and Poland, is ending in disgust and enmity — which will not be overcome until both leaders leave.

Latest News

  1. Spanish PM to delay EU presidency speech due to snap election
  2. EU data protection chief launches Frontex investigation
  3. Madrid steps up bid to host EU anti-money laundering hub
  4. How EU leaders should deal with Chinese government repression
  5. MEPs pile on pressure for EU to delay Hungary's presidency
  6. IEA: World 'comfortably' on track for renewables target
  7. Europe's TV union wooing Lavrov for splashy interview
  8. ECB: eurozone home prices could see 'disorderly' fall

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. International Sustainable Finance CentreJoin CEE Sustainable Finance Summit, 15 – 19 May 2023, high-level event for finance & business
  2. ICLEISeven actionable measures to make food procurement in Europe more sustainable
  3. World BankWorld Bank Report Highlights Role of Human Development for a Successful Green Transition in Europe
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersNordic summit to step up the fight against food loss and waste
  5. Nordic Council of MinistersThink-tank: Strengthen co-operation around tech giants’ influence in the Nordics
  6. EFBWWEFBWW calls for the EC to stop exploitation in subcontracting chains

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. InformaConnecting Expert Industry-Leaders, Top Suppliers, and Inquiring Buyers all in one space - visit Battery Show Europe.
  2. EFBWWEFBWW and FIEC do not agree to any exemptions to mandatory prior notifications in construction
  3. Nordic Council of MinistersNordic and Baltic ways to prevent gender-based violence
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersCSW67: Economic gender equality now! Nordic ways to close the pension gap
  5. Nordic Council of MinistersCSW67: Pushing back the push-back - Nordic solutions to online gender-based violence
  6. Nordic Council of MinistersCSW67: The Nordics are ready to push for gender equality

Join EUobserver

Support quality EU news

Join us