EU warns Bulgaria, Romania over corruption, judiciary
Frans Timmermans - Photo EC
(BRUSSELS) - The EU on Wednesday warned Bulgaria and Romania they must do much more to combat crime, corruption and weak judicial systems amid growing criticism they are failing to meet reform commitments.
The two former communist states joined the European Union in 2007 promising radical changes to meet the standards expected in the 28-nation bloc but progress, especially in Bulgaria, has been painfully slow.
European Commission Vice President Frans Timmermans said Bulgaria had made some progress last year but now it was time for "concrete results."
"2016 must be the year when Bulgarians feel progress on the ground. Seeing real results in tackling high level corruption and organised crime cases remains Bulgaria's biggest challenge and must be the highest priority," Timmermans said in a statement.
The Commission, releasing its annual "Cooperation and Verification Mechanism" report on Bulgaria, noted Sofia had pushed through an amended constitution, which represented progress towards reform of the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) which oversees the judiciary.
"Other initiatives have faced setbacks, most notably the anti-corruption strategy," the report said, citing parliament's rejection of a new anti-corruption watchdog which highlighted the lack of overall political support for the reform process.
Worse still "the fact that many of the recommendations of (the previous year's report) still require action underlines a lack of determination in the efforts of Bulgarian institutions in key areas of judicial governance," it said.
Reacting to the damning report, Sofia expressed its "political will to quickly obtain concrete results" in the fight against corruption and organised crime.
"The government will make it its top priority to examine draft laws on the functioning of the justice system and the fight against corruption," Bulgaria's Deputy Prime Minister Meglena Kouneva said.
On Tuesday, Bulgaria's ruling right-wing coalition demanded the resignation of the SJC, claiming a series of scandals showed it was involved in "political influence peddling and catering for different corporate and economic interests."
Commission officials said they could not immediately comment on this development.
The Commission report on Romania was more positive, citing demonstrations last year as evidence the population wanted genuine reform.
"Over the last year, Romania and Romanians have shown their willingness to fight corruption and to protect the independence of the judiciary," Timmermans said in a separate statement.
Again, however, much remained to be done.
"I am encouraged to see that Romania continues to make reforms and this positive trend continued in 2015," Timmermans said.
"These efforts must be stepped up in 2016, in particular to prevent corruption and ensure that judges can continue to do their job properly."
Progress in Bulgaria under the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism - Commission report
Progress in Romania under the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism - Commission report