/ world today news/ The monitoring group for democracy of the European Parliament (EP) demands that the European Commission strengthen the audit and monitoring of the way European funds are spent in Bulgaria, including those that will be allocated under the Development and Sustainability Plan. This is one of the conclusions of the European MPs from the group who visited Bulgaria at the end of September. Their report was discussed in the Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) Committee on Monday. The monitoring group consists of two representatives of each political group in the EP. The only member from Bulgaria is Elena Yoncheva, MEP from the Socialists and Democrats.
The goal is not to reduce funding for Bulgaria, nor to punish Bulgarian citizens, but to have a strong preventive mechanism against possible corruption. To limit the danger of these funds being stolen, instead of being invested as intended – for projects that will improve the living environment in the country, she commented after the meeting. The monitoring group will continue to monitor Bulgaria, a procedure that began in the summer of 2020 and coincided with the protests in Sofia against the GERB government.
The group will send additional questions to the authorities in Bulgaria, as well as to the Prosecutor General, to get clarity on what has been done about corruption at the highest levels of power and other cases of public interest. The accountability of the Attorney General is clearly insufficient. The problem must be solved urgently, because it would cost the Bulgarian citizens millions of euros, commented Elena Yoncheva during the debates.
According to her, the European Commission hesitates to use all its tools in the problems with the rule of law. We need to increase the pressure for reforms. Civil society in Bulgaria hopes to be noticed in Brussels. We can no longer remain silent about the systemic lack of justice. If we do not react, we will become complicit, she said.
We will ask the investigators both about Barcelonagate and about the audio recording with the voice of Boyko Borisov, and about the photos with the bundles in the drawer, explained Elena Yoncheva after the meeting. The Barcelonagate affair must be brought to an end even though the GERB are no longer in charge, because stepping down should not be considered sufficient when there are suspicions of crimes committed by the Prime Minister.
The investigation of high-level corruption was one of the topics discussed by the monitoring group’s mission in Bulgaria. Her conclusions are based on information obtained from meetings with the Attorney General, the President, the media, NGOs, Cabinet Ministers and the Ombudsman.
Unlike the European Commission’s rule of law reports, in ours we do not use only the government in the respective country as a source of information. That is why our tone is not so diplomatic, said the chair of the monitoring group Sophie in’t Veld in the discussion on Monday.
In addition to being seriously concerned about the problems in the fight against corruption and the lack of accountability of the Prosecutor General, MEPs express strong concerns about media freedom and pluralism. Managers should make efforts to improve the working environment and safety of journalists. As a priority, transparency rules should be established when receiving European funds from the media, the group recommends.
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