Bulgarian parliament overturns president’s veto on corruption bill

By bne IntelliNews January 16, 2018

The Bulgarian parliament has overturned a veto by President Rumen Radev on the controversial anti-corruption law that was adopted in December despite strong objections from the opposition and magistrates, EU Observer reported.

Bulgaria, which has just assumed the rotating presidency of the European Council, is desperate to show good results in its fight against corruption as it had been strongly criticised for its lack of progress.

In its report on Bulgaria in January 2017, the European Commission once again noted that the country had failed to make any significant progress in the battle against graft in the past 10 years. This has resulted in a lack of trust in the judicial system among Bulgarian citizens. In its November CVM report, the EC noted that, although Bulgaria has put a lot of effort into adopting several laws, the government has failed in terms of transparency.

Earlier in January, Radev vetoed the law, claiming that its instruments are not efficient and can essentially be used as sticks with which to beat the opposition.

Prime Minister Boyko Borissov's government passed several legislative changes in 2017, aiming to persuade the EU it has made serious progress in the fight against corruption. However, all the changes were fiercely opposed by magistrates and politicians.

In September, several political parties, judges and lawyers urged Radev to veto the selection of the new head of the Supreme Administrative Court (SAC), claiming that the selection procedure was not transparent and that the new head had been pre-selected by the ruling party. Radev is due to announce his opinion later this week.

Magistrates and political parties also strongly objected to controversial reforms concerning two laws that are part of the ongoing judicial reforms. Parties, civil society and the organisation of magistrates asked the president to veto amendments to the Criminal Procedure Code and the Judicial System Act, but he allowed them to enter into force. After Radev allowed the two legislative changes, the Supreme Bar Council (SBC) said it would ask the constitutional court to declare controversial changes to the Criminal Procedure Code unconstitutional.

Related Articles

bne IntelliNews Southeast Europe Outlook 2024

This Southeast Europe Outlook 2024 has been prepared by bne IntelliNews as part of a series of annual reviews providing updates on the geopolitical, macroeconomic and commercial state of ... more

EBRD 2023: EBRD, EU and ILX to co-operate to boost private-sector finance in Emerging Europe

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the European Union, and ILX Management, an emerging market asset manager, have joined forces to enhance private-sector finance in Emerging ... more

EU ban on Russian LNG could backfire

Momentum is building behind calls for the EU to impose a ban on Russian LNG, even though doing so could make it harder for the bloc to stock up on gas supplies before next winter. The EU has ... more

Dismiss