EC Expects to See Convictions for Public Corruption in High Echelon of Bulgaria

Bulgaria should make a serious attempt to issue final convictions for high-echelon corruption, European Commission spokesman Christian Wigand said.

The European Commission will continue to closely monitor work in this regard in the context of the annual reports on the rule of law, he added.

Commenting on whether US sanctions will be reflected in the upcoming Report on the Rule of Law for Bulgaria in July, Wigand said: "It is important that developments in Bulgaria do not reverse the trend towards progress.

Bulgaria must complete implementation  of the reforms described in the 2019 report, there is still unfinished work. An important element of it is to continue cooperation with the Council of Europe authorities in order to overcome some drawbacks related to the anti-corruption framework and the effectiveness of criminal investigations".