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© DAINA LE LARDIC, © European Union 2020 – Source: EP
The Civil Liberties Commission (LIBE) of the European Parliament approved by 35 votes to 30 and one abstention a draft resolution on the “significant deterioration of the rule of law, democracy and fundamental rights”, including the independence of the judiciary, the separation of powers, the fight against corruption and freedom of the media “in Bulgaria.
He strongly supports protesters over the past three months and explicitly mentions specific instances of pressure on protesters and obstruction of journalists, from inspections of the toy store chain Hypoland to restrictions on the movement of reporters. in the new parliament building The resolution is expected to be voted on by Parliament in plenary on 8 October and debated on Monday.
MEPs underline the need for the Bulgarian government to ensure tighter control over the way EU funds are spent and to respond immediately to fears that taxpayers’ money is being used to increase the wealth of the associated with the ruling party.
The text also focuses on the continuing systemic problems in the judiciary, in particular the lack of a framework for accountability by the Supreme Judicial Council and the Attorney General, as well as the failure to comply with more than 45 judgments of the European Court of Human Rights through effective investigations.
Read more about its content here.
It is a “resolution on a current issue”, the debate of which will take place in plenary on 5 October. It comes after two other discussions in Bulgaria, the first in a subcommittee of the LIBE Civil Liberties Commission and the second, in its full composition and in the presence of the European Commissioner for Values and Transparency, Vera Yourova. And yesterday, at the presentation of the first Report on the Rule of Law in the EU, the EU Commissioner for Justice, Didier Reynders, announced that Bulgaria’s part will be debated in the EU Council in November together with four other countries. : Belgium, Denmark, Estonia and the Czech Republic.
What else was said about Bulgaria?
Earlier, during the discussions on the Report on the Rule of Law presented yesterday, Bulgarian MEP Emil Radev also spoke. He said that “it raises serious questions that cannot be ignored” and recalled that the European People’s Party (PPE, whose political family is the GERB) has long been demanding a universal mechanism that is not discriminatory, but rather that evaluates each country on the right foot. equality. base. Radev, although he did not mention in plain text the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism (MCV), which applies only to Bulgaria and Romania, said he hoped that the new report “will lead to the elimination of other duplicative mechanisms for some countries.” .
“These reports look like bulletins. They are completely true, but are by no means evaluated,” said Elena Yoncheva, a member of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats.
“Money from European citizens should not be used to finance corruption and violations of the rule of law, but it is happening. I mean what this means for countries like Bulgaria. One hundred million EU funds for guest houses in areas Rural houses are used for private villas near the government. Farmers say millions of European money goes to non-existent farms, and the agriculture minister says: “Shut up, say nothing, the money will stop,” said far-left MEP Claire. Daly. EU funds are the blood of those vampires who suck it and live off it. We have to stop this, it has gone on long enough. “
How the Bulgarian MEPs voted
Petar Vitanov and Elena Yoncheva of the S&D voted “in favor”; Emil Radev from EPP and Angel Djambazki from EKR – “against”.
