Post-monitoring dialogue with Bulgaria
- Author(s):
- Parliamentary Assembly
- Origin
- Assembly debate on 1 October 2025
(33rd sitting) (see Doc. 16246,
report of the Committee on the Honouring of Obligations and Commitments
by Member States of the Council of Europe (Monitoring Committee),
co-rapporteurs: Ms Deborah Bergamini and Mr Yves Cruchten). Text adopted by the Assembly on
1 October 2025 (33rd sitting).
1. Bulgaria joined the Council of
Europe in 1992. Until 2000, it was subject to the full monitoring
procedure. By means of
Resolution 1211 (2000) “Honouring
of obligations and commitments by Bulgaria”, the Parliamentary Assembly
decided to close the monitoring procedure and open a post-monitoring
dialogue on a number of outstanding concerns arising from Bulgaria’s
non-fulfilment of the commitments it entered into upon accession
and the obligations incumbent upon every member State under Article 3
of the Statute of the Council of Europe (ETS No. 1) with regard
to democracy, the rule of law and human rights. Since 2000, the
progress made in addressing these outstanding concerns has been
systematically assessed by the Assembly.
2. The Assembly refers to its most recent resolution on post-monitoring
dialogue with Bulgaria, namely
Resolution 2296 (2019), in which
it recognised the unquestionable progress achieved in terms of the
crucial reforms and legislative framework put in place. However,
it resolved not to close the post-monitoring dialogue until remaining
issues in the areas of the judiciary, the fight against high-level
corruption, the media, the human rights of minorities and the fight
against hate speech and violence against women have been addressed,
with a view to ensuring the sustainability and irreversibility of
reforms.
3. Bulgaria should be commended for having overcome the political
crisis and instability illustrated by seven consecutive early parliamentary
elections held on 4 April 2021, 11 July 2021, 14 November 2021 (on the
day of the presidential election), 2 October 2022, 2 April 2023,
9 June 2024 and 27 October 2024.
4. The Assembly welcomes the establishment of a coalition government
in January 2025 and its demonstration of sustained political will
and determination to fully honour the commitments and obligations reflected
in
Resolution 2296 (2019),
as confirmed by its continued co-operation with Council of Europe monitoring
mechanisms, including the Committee on the Honouring of Obligations
and Commitments by Member States of the Council of Europe (Monitoring
Committee) of the Assembly and the European Commission for Democracy
through Law (Venice Commission).
5. The Assembly underlines that, on 20 December 2023, the parliament
adopted constitutional amendments which addressed some long-standing
concerns of the Venice Commission and the Assembly with regard to
the system of governance of the judiciary and of the prosecution
service.
6. The Assembly takes note of the ruling (No. 13) of the Constitutional
Court of 26 July 2024, which declared unconstitutional most of these
constitutional amendments and stated that their adoption required
a Grand National Assembly and not an ordinary parliament. Consequently,
the reform of the Supreme Judicial Council was not pursued, which
is to be regretted.
7. The Assembly welcomes the reform of the Criminal Procedure
Code of 26 May 2023 which established a mechanism for the accountability
and criminal liability of the prosecutor general and his or her
deputies. Following this reform, prosecutors’ decisions not to open
investigations into certain categories of criminal offences (including
corruption-related offences) can be subject to judicial review.
The Assembly notes with satisfaction that the Constitutional Court
confirmed the constitutionality of these legislative amendments
(ruling No. 14 of 26 July 2024). It also welcomes the fact that
the same court confirmed the constitutionality of the constitutional
amendments of 20 December 2023 limiting the excessive powers of
the prosecutor’s office (ruling No. 13 of 26 July 2024). All these
developments are in line with the Venice Commission’s recommendations.
8. While the above legislative and constitutional changes constitute,
overall, considerable progress towards fulfilment of Bulgaria’s
commitments and obligations, it is regrettable that not all issues
with regard to the judicial system have yet been addressed. In particular,
the five-year probationary period for judges has been retained.
Moreover, the broad and vaguely defined role of the Inspectorate
to the Supreme Judicial Council and the lack of safeguards which
would prevent interference with the substance of the courts’ decision making
are matters of concern.
9. The Assembly welcomes the measures undertaken by the Bulgarian
authorities with a view to combating high-level corruption. It welcomes
the adoption, on 6 October 2023, of the Anti-Corruption Act, which introduced
a new structure and new powers for the Commission for Countering
Corruption and the Commission for Illegal Asset Forfeiture, in particular
the power to investigate corruption offences committed by persons holding
public positions. The lack of this power was one of the main weaknesses
of the former Anti-Corruption Commission.
10. The Assembly notes with satisfaction the adoption, on 27 January
2023, of the long-awaited Act on Protection of Persons Reporting
Information or Publicly Disclosing Information about Breaches (Whistleblowers
Protection Act), which provides for a comprehensive and streamlined
legal framework for reporting and whistle-blower protection in compliance
with democratic standards. The amendments to the Law on Public Procurement,
aimed at ensuring more transparency, mark further progress. Moreover,
the Assembly notes the ongoing work on new legislation in the areas
of lobbying and foreign bribery.
11. The Assembly takes note of the Second compliance report on
Bulgaria by the Group of States against Corruption (GRECO), published
in January 2020, which assessed the implementation of the recommendations of
the fourth evaluation round on the prevention of corruption in respect
of members of parliament, judges and prosecutors. The report concluded
that out of 19 recommendations, Bulgaria has implemented 16 and
that the 3 remaining recommendations have been partly implemented.
12. The Assembly refers to GRECO’s Fifth evaluation round report
on Bulgaria on preventing corruption and promoting integrity in
central governments (top executive functions) and law-enforcement
authorities, in which GRECO formulated 28 recommendations. In November
2024, GRECO concluded that only 7 recommendations had been implemented
satisfactorily (mainly those concerning the integrity of police),
11 had been partly implemented and 10 had not been implemented.
The Assembly urges the Bulgarian authorities to fully and rapidly
implement GRECO’s recommendations included in the fourth and fifth
evaluation rounds.
13. Despite some high-level corruption scandals in the country,
Bulgaria continues to lack a solid track record of final convictions
in such cases to date. In 2023, Bulgarian political figures were
sanctioned in third countries, in cases related to high-level corruption,
after the judicial proceedings against them had been halted in Bulgaria.
The Assembly expects that the effectiveness of the newly introduced
anti-corruption measures will be demonstrated through a better track
record of final convictions in high-level corruption cases.
14. Over 90 leading judgments of the European Court of Human Rights
concerning Bulgaria are pending implementation, with around one
third of them pending for at least ten years. The Assembly calls
on the agencies to continue to co-operate with the Committee of
Ministers of the Council of Europe with a view to making tangible
progress in the execution of the judgments of the European Court
of Human Rights, in particular as regards cases concerning the reform
of the judiciary (S.Z. v. Bulgaria, Kolevi v. Bulgaria and Miroslava Todorova v. Bulgaria),
forced evictions and demolition of houses of Roma (Yordanova and Others v. Bulgaria)
and refusals to register associations of persons asserting a Macedonian
ethnic consciousness (TheUnited Macedonian Organisation Ilinden and
Others v. Bulgaria and similar cases).
15. The Assembly notes with satisfaction that Bulgaria has considerably
improved its framework as regards freedom of expression. A number
of positive developments should be noted, including amendments to
the Criminal Code providing for better protection of journalists
in cases of alleged defamation with regard to public officials,
adopted in July 2023. The alleviation of criminal liability has
addressed a long-standing recommendation of the Council of Europe.
A major improvement should be acknowledged in the jurisprudence of
national courts with regard to defamation charges against journalists,
in application of the case law of the European Court of Human Rights.
16. Regrettably, persistent problems include high levels of media
concentration and a lack of transparency in media ownership, distribution
and media providers, and an important number of strategic lawsuits
against public participation (SLAPPs) targeting journalists. The
Assembly calls on the Bulgarian authorities to introduce legislative
measures addressing these concerns.
17. The Assembly remains concerned about the fragile situation
of the Roma population, which is the largest minority group and
constitutes almost 5% of the population in Bulgaria. While a number
of programmes, strategies and action plans have been designed and
implemented in recent years to improve the situation of Roma, no
significant progress has been noted, and reports relating to the
employment, housing, material situation, education and health of
the Roma population continue to be alarming. The Assembly urges
the Bulgarian authorities to pursue their efforts in order to achieve
tangible progress in the integration and inclusion of the Roma population.
18. The Assembly notes with satisfaction that a number of measures
have been taken to combat hate speech. The latest amendments to
the Criminal Code, adopted in July 2023, provide for a more extensive definition
of hate speech and hate crime and for more severe punishment for
these offences. National campaigns and training have considerably
contributed to increasing public and professional awareness.
19. The Assembly recognises the considerable progress achieved
with regard to combating violence against women. In particular,
it commends Bulgaria for the adoption, in July 2023, of the amendments
to the Law on Protection from Domestic Violence, which cover the
protection of victims of domestic violence from an early stage,
irrespective of the legal status of their relationship with the
perpetrators. Furthermore, the amendments to the Law on Protection
from Domestic Violence adopted in August 2023 give additional rights
to the victims. At the same time, the Assembly urges the Bulgarian
authorities to increase budgetary resources for shelters for victims
of domestic violence.
20. While the overall progress in the fulfilment of Bulgaria’s
commitments and obligations is not questioned, some remaining shortcomings
still need to be addressed. The Assembly calls on the Bulgarian
authorities to resume the reform of the organisation of the State
(which was stopped following the ruling (No. 13) of the Constitutional
Court of 26 July 2024) through the adoption of ordinary legislation
and/or new constitutional amendments by the Grand National Assembly.
It also invites the authorities to address other outstanding issues
in close co-operation with the Committee of Ministers, the Department
for the Execution of Judgments of the European Court of Human Rights,
the Venice Commission and other Council of Europe bodies.
21. The Assembly points out that all successive early parliamentary
elections between 2021 and 2024 were observed by its ad hoc committees
for the observation of elections. The legal framework was adequate
for the conduct of democratic elections and fundamental freedoms
were respected. Overall, the consecutive elections were considered
to be competitive and well managed by the election administration.
22. The Assembly notes that, in September 2023, the European Commission
terminated the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism in respect
of Bulgaria following the satisfactory fulfilment of all the benchmarks
and recommendations under this mechanism in the fields of the judiciary
and the fight against corruption and organised crime. It also welcomes
the decisions of the relevant European Union institutions on Bulgaria’s accession
to the euro area as of 1 January 2026.
23. Against this background, the Assembly resolves to close the
post-monitoring dialogue with Bulgaria and follow the developments
in the country with regard to the rule of law, pluralist democracy
and human rights in the framework of its periodic reviews.
