07/04/2009 Monitoring
Strasbourg, 07.04.2009 – In the haste to meet strenuous EU accession deadlines, some of Bulgaria’s reforms – particularly the reform of the judiciary – have undergone “cosmetic changes” which have pushed them in an undesired direction, according to a new report from the Monitoring Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) in the framework of “post-monitoring dialogue” with the country.
In an information note posted today on the Assembly’s website, the Committee’s Chair Serhiy Holovaty (Ukraine, ALDE) named in particular the consitutional amendments and the amendments to the Judicial System Act of February 2007.
The note said weaknesses in the country’s judiciary could have “repercussions on most spheres of society, hampering the proper functioning of all democratic institutions”.
It also evaluates the independence of the media in Bulgaria, the rights of national minorities, the establishment of an ombudsman, and efforts to combat corruption.
Information note (PDF)