Brussels, 17/06/2013 (Agence Europe) - The Bulgarian prime minister, Plamen Orecharski, who has made controversial appointments, is expected to come to Brussels on Friday to explain the situation to the European Commission, which is concerned about discontent in the country.
“The demonstrations in Bulgaria show once again the depth of concern in Bulgarian society about the rule of law”, said a European Commission spokesman on Monday 17 June, pointing out that “the cooperation and verification mechanism gives the Commission a particular role in supporting and monitoring the process in Bulgaria in promoting judicial reform and tackling corruption and organised crime. The controversy over the appointment of the head of the state agency of national security (DANS) illustrates the need for reform”. He added that “it shows the need for policies and procedures which can give confidence to the Bulgarian people”. The Commission says that the “competence” of the newly appointed individuals is key for deciding who will lead Bulgaria in these areas.
The spokesman said the Commission had taken note of the resignation of controversial parliamentarian Deylan Peevski from the head of DANS and hoped that the person who would finally be appointed to head DANS would have the necessary competence and integrity. The Commission will work closely with the Bulgarian government on the recent reforms, added the spokesman.
Anti-government demonstrations continued in Sofia and in other cities on Sunday, for the third day in a row. The demonstrators are calling for the Centre-Left government headed by independent economist Plamen Orecharski to resign, accusing it of oligarchy.
The demonstrations were in opposition to the appointment of Peevski as the head of DANS. A press baron and parliamentarian of the minority Turkish party, MDL, Peevski is only 32 years old and has no experience in security services. The Bulgarian prime minister appointed him under pressure from MDL, whose support is crucial for his government. DANS is a counter-espionage agency which has just been given greater powers to tackle organised crime.
Peevski's resignation on Saturday has not calmed the protest movement.
The prime minister, Plamen Orecharski, has only been in the job for three weeks. On Sunday, he ruled out any idea of resigning himself in order to prevent destabilisation of the country, saying in a press release that it would be easy to resign on the personal level, but it would be extremely irresponsible because it would cause renewed destabilisation. Bulgaria runs the risk of not signing an agreement with the EU for the upcoming budget period (2014-2020) and therefore losing billions of euro, he explained.
The new prime minister replaced former prime minister Boïko Borissov after a difficult election on 12 May. A report by the cooperation and verification mechanism (CVM) on the health of Bulgaria's democratic system is scheduled for the end of the year. (SP and LC/transl.fl)