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Since July, Bulgarian citizens have been protesting against Prime Minister Borissov and the corrupt elite. The fact that the EU has so far barely reacted has been criticized not only by the people on the streets, writes Srdjan Govedarica, a correspondent for the German television station ARD. BGNES.
The protests against Prime Minister Boyko Borissov take place for eleven weeks. Daniel Freund MEP is also here talking to protesters. It was received with great enthusiasm. Freund is from the Green Party, a member of the budget committee of the European Parliament and chairman of the parliamentary group of the anti-corruption faction. He came to Bulgaria to get an idea of what is happening in the country with EU money.
His verdict is clear: “If we stop EU funding for Bulgaria tomorrow, we will not take bread from poor children, but caviar from corrupt oligarchs,” he said. “And that is why I think this is the right way to handle reforms and changes here,” he said.
A network of politicians and oligarchs
Freund’s words reflected the protesters’ demands. They have been calling for the resignation of the government of Prime Minister Borissov and Chief Prosecutor Ivan Geshev for weeks. They are accused of creating a system of powerful networks of politicians and oligarchs that accumulate public acquisitions and money and are protected by the judiciary.
The EU secures this power base by exercising very little control and ultimately by supporting the corrupt system with its payments to the country – that is the fault. “Europe definitely sees what is happening here,” said one protester who did not give his name. “Whether this is intentional or not, I don’t know, but the EU is certainly behind in its reactions.”
Judge Panov fears an escalation
Lozan Panov is one of the highest ranking judges in Bulgaria and one of the few in the country who dares to come forward. And during the interview, the president of the Supreme Court of Cassation was not silent: “In Bulgaria, European funds are mainly poured into the hands of a small elite group,” he said.
In this way, they helped the state to take control of the media and institutions. “The people who are currently in power will not stop this process of independent control over the state by themselves,” Panov said. “That’s why I think that if there is no reaction from the EU, the situation could get worse.”
Since joining the EU 13 years ago, Bulgaria, like Romania, has been placed under surveillance by the Commission in Brussels, which has been pushing for reforms due to major shortcomings in the rule of law. This is at least in theory, because in practice the tool turns out to be toothless.
The semi-annual progress reports from Brussels have little to do with the actual situation in Bulgaria; This is Judge Panov’s accusation, citing the powerful Chief Prosecutor Geshev as an example: “This is a Chief Prosecutor with unlimited power. He stands on a pyramidal structure. He determines who should be held criminally responsible and who should not,” he said (Panov ).
“In other words, instead of protecting people from criminals, the Bulgarian prosecution and chief prosecutor are doing exactly the opposite. They open an umbrella to their friends and attack their opponents, politically and economically.”
“Crisis of the European rule of law”
“UE, are you blind or are you like him?” Reads a poster that the protesters raised high up in the center of Sofia. It shows Prime Minister Boyko Borissov in friendly positions with Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Emmanuel Macron and other EU leaders.
The fact that a Brussels MP is now attending the protest is accompanied by a laconic comment from a participant: “Better late than never.” Freund MEP comes to a grim conclusion that goes beyond Bulgaria: “We have a crisis with the European rule of law,” he said. “And we must respond decisively.” Otherwise, on the one hand, the EU would lose the citizens of Bulgaria if they had the impression that Europe is financing corrupt structures. “But we will also lose people in the rest of Europe if we are left with the impression that EU money is being spent out of control.”
Germany
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