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The European People’s Party wants to play twice for the rule of law. Even as he insists on new rules to stop EU funding for governments that do not respect European values, the corruption crisis in Bulgaria has brought center-right political groups to justice for applying double standards. Especially when it comes to political allies. This is what the Brussels-based website Politico wrote in a commentary article.
A majority of EPP MEPs are expected to vote Thursday on a parliamentary resolution expressing fears that European funds are fueling high-level corruption in the Balkan state amid three months of anti-government protests. The immediate priority of the EPP deputies is to protect the Bulgarian Prime Minister, Boyko Borissov. They believe he has been targeted for political reasons.
The timing of the vote for Bulgaria is inconvenient for the largest political group in the European Parliament. The EPP must protect European money destined for Bulgaria, while positioning itself as the main proponent of the thesis that the payment of EU funds must depend on the strict observance of the rule of law.
Since July, Bulgaria has been mired in political turmoil, revealing the extent to which mafia bosses have created and run a parallel state through their influence in the media, the judiciary, and law enforcement agencies. President Rumen Radev, other opposition leaders and protesters accuse Borissov of allowing the state to be taken over.
The leader of the EPP group, Manfred Weber, admitted during the debate in the European Parliament that “not everything is perfect” in Bulgaria. However, he happily concluded that the country was “on the right track” with Borissov. Deputies from the Socialist, Liberal and Green groups accuse the EPP of hypocrisy, as it places its loyalty to Borissov above the rule of law.
Katarina Barley, a former German justice minister and now left-wing vice president, says the EPP has always been quick to call for resignations for corruption, but when it comes to people outside of its group. He asked the EPP not to repeat the situation with its inaction due to corruption in Hungary. “Don’t make the same mistake in Bulgaria,” he said.
The double rapprochement with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and his FIDES party has damaged the image of the EPP in recent years. The European People’s Party (EPP) froze Fidesz membership in March 2019 due to concerns about the rule of law and anti-European rhetoric. However, the EPP did not agree to expel Fidesz permanently because many MEPs refused to expel Orban. Fidesz representatives continue to participate in the work of the PPE Group in the European Parliament.
Romanian MEP Ramona Strugariu (Renew Europe) has criticized “powerful” European politicians for supporting Bulgaria’s “well-woven networks” that misuse EU funds.
“Do you know who you support?” He asks, recalling that the German chancellor is Borissov’s strongest ally in the EPP in the last ten years.
It’s about money
In the end, it’s about money. If the Socialists, Liberals and Greens pass the Bulgarian resolution on Thursday, it will have no immediate binding force. However, the resolution will carry great political weight, as discussions continue in the EU on the mechanism to link payments to the rule of law. The misuse of European funds is a key factor in fueling corruption in Bulgaria, with the most recent cases involving senior officials using EU funds to build private villas and provide agricultural funds to non-existent companies.
Another high-profile case under investigation concerns the attempt by senior judicial officials to seize an elevator company with threats. The goal is to re-access EU money.
Former Justice Minister and co-chair of the anti-corruption coalition “Democratic Bulgaria”, Hristo Ivanov, defines EU funds as a “drug” that keeps the Bulgarian mafia alive.
Irish far-left MEP Claire Daly says Bulgarians need the EU to take action to “stop feeding vampires” through corruption schemes.
Daniel Freund, a German MEP from the Green Party, noted that there is a consensus among Bulgarians that the best way to fight corruption at the highest level is to cut EU funds. “Money doesn’t feed starving children. If you stop money, you’re actually spawning corrupt oligarchs,” he said.
Manfred Weber avoids talking about the misuse of EU funds in Bulgaria. Instead, he praised Borisov for “leading a pro-European government” and supporting the introduction of the euro. Despite attacks on journalists and the independent judiciary, Weber claims that Bulgaria has a well-functioning democracy and free media. Bulgarian GERB MEP Andrei Kovachev complained that the debate on the rule of law was being politicized by “pro-Kremlin” socialists in Bulgaria.
(The Bulgarian socialists have strong ties to Moscow, but Borisov also maintains cordial ties to Russia, as do his far-right coalition partners Politico.)
Restricted to the left
The main argument of the EPP is that change in Bulgaria should be decided by the ordinary elections in spring 2021, and not by street protests. For many protesters, this argument does not make sense. They argue that this is an excuse for the inaction on European funds, which have created deep-rooted parallel power networks in the judiciary that are more powerful than democratically elected politicians.
There are also long-standing concerns about unscrupulous practices during elections in Bulgaria. They relate to the means by which the parties can benefit. The main parties seek to gain control of large groups of voters, providing them benefits. They do it mainly with the poorer Muslim and Roma communities.
Bulgarian MP for the EPP, Radan Kanev (Democratic Bulgaria), said that the EPP’s loyalty to Borisois was based on the fear that Europe might lean to the left.
“In the EPP, they have the feeling that the center-left parties could seize our strengths one by one … Boyko is next,” he said.
Kanev said that he had tried unsuccessfully to change traditional thinking about Bulgaria within the group. One of the main challenges for him is to describe how the crisis of the rule of law in Bulgaria differs from that created by Orbán in Hungary.
“I did not expect them to openly oppose the government, but finally they must understand that in Bulgaria it is not about government control over the judiciary or the media, but about taking over the mafia,” he said.
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