
BRUSSELS – The collaboration among institutions to tackle corruption in Bulgaria is commendable, but more efforts are necessary to make substantial strides in high-level corruption cases. This was expressed by European Commissioner for Justice Michael McGrath during a press conference after the EU Council on General Affairs meeting. European ministers reviewed the rule of law situation in Bulgaria, Germany, Ireland, and the Czech Republic.
McGrath noted that Bulgaria has seen limited convictions for high-level corruption, highlighting existing issues concerning the integrity of officials in senior management roles.
Reforms have been initiated for the Commission for Combating Corruption, yet further actions are essential to enhance its effectiveness and independence. This matter is linked to the funding under the Recovery and Resilience Plan, McGrath added.
The Commissioner also applauded the recent legislative changes in Bulgaria aimed at fighting corruption and promoting lobbying transparency, as well as the implementation of measures to safeguard whistleblowers.
Over the past 10 months, Bulgaria has made up for the delays in reforms in the “Justice” sector that were outlined in the Recovery and Resilience Plan signed in April 2022, stated Minister of Justice Georgi Georgiev, who also attended the EU Council’s General Affairs meeting. He highlighted the government’s advancements in areas such as “Accessible, effective, and predictable justice,” “Anti-corruption,” “Mandatory judicial mediation,” and “Insolvency framework improvement.”
The recently introduced Lobbying Law, developed in consultation with the EC and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), will undergo public discussion, Minister Georgiev noted.
The Ministry of Justice has prepared a project for support under the EU Technical Assistance Instrument to enhance the capacity for investigating high-level corruption. The project is currently under evaluation, with anticipated approval aimed at establishing specialized capacity and improving inter-institutional collaboration in serious corruption inquiries. (17.11.2025)













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