On Thursday, 19 January, the Council of Europe’s Group of States against Corruption (GRECO) published a report on Bulgaria in which it calls for a series of strong measures to fight corruption in law enforcement and the executive.
In particular, the experts lament the lack of a code of ethics governing the activities of senior government officials.
They call for more transparency with regard to [these officials’] remuneration, their possible ancillary activities, and their interactions with lobbyists.
Also lacking are a convincing verification of their declarations of interests and assets as well as an effective criminal justice response to corruption offences.
As for the police, GRECO is calling for the police’s independence from political influence to be strengthened, for corruption risks concerning the police to be mapped, for a specific and effective strategy to counter corruption to be established, and for a code of ethics to be published.
The procedures for recruitment and promotion within the police as well as the lack of effective whistleblower protection have also been called into question.
On this basis, GRECO has given the Bulgarian authorities 13 recommendations regarding the prevention of corruption among senior officials and 15 recommendations pertaining to the police.
Their implementation will be assessed in 2024.
Link to the GRECO report: https://aeur.eu/f/4yz (Original version in French by Véronique Leblanc)