BRUSSELS – Cooperation between institutions to combat corruption in Bulgaria is good, but there is a need for efforts to achieve lasting progress on high-level corruption cases. This was stated by the European Commissioner for Justice Michael McGrath at a press conference following the meeting of the EU Council on General Affairs. European ministers discussed the situation regarding the rule of law in Bulgaria, Germany, Ireland, and the Czech Republic.
So far, the convictions for high-level corruption in Bulgaria are limited, McGrath pointed out, adding that there are still gaps regarding the integrity of officials in high management positions.
Steps have been taken to reform the Commission for Combating Corruption, and additional efforts are needed to achieve effectiveness in its work, as well as for its independence. This issue is related to the payments under the Recovery and Resilience Plan, said Commissioner McGrath.
The European Commissioner added that he welcomes the recent changes in Bulgaria’s legislation to combat corruption and ensure transparency in lobbying, as well as the measures that have come into force to protect whistleblowers.
Bulgaria has managed in the past 10 months to catch up on its delays from the last three years in the reforms in the area of “Justice,” as outlined in the Recovery and Resilience Plan signed in April 2022, said the Minister of Justice Georgi Georgiev, who also participated in the EU Council’s General Affairs meeting. He presented the progress made by the government in the areas of “Accessible, effective, and predictable justice,” “Anti-corruption,” “Introduction of mandatory judicial mediation,” and “Improvement of the insolvency framework.”
The latest major reform is the new Lobbying Law, which has been developed after consultations with the EC and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and is set to be subjected to public discussion, noted Minister Georgiev.
The Ministry of Justice has prepared a project for support under the EU Technical Assistance Instrument aimed at enhancing the capacity to investigate high-level corruption. The project has been submitted for evaluation, and the expected approval will contribute to building specialized capacity and strengthening inter-institutional cooperation in serious corruption investigations. (17.11.2025)
