Report from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on progress in Bulgaria under the Co-operation and Verification Mechanism

In 2012, the fifth year of the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism (CVM), the Commission decided to produce a longer-term assessment to give a full picture of progress. This assessment was published in July 2012.

It showed important progress in the adaptation of the basic legislative and institutional framework, but also some important remaining gaps as well as a need for effective and consistent implementation of the reforms. There were still considerable challenges to be tackled. In this context it was decided to take a longer period before the next report (18 months) see how the reforms already implemented by Bulgaria were taking root and to give time to assess the degree of sustainability before the next assessment. The 2012 report, its methodology and conclusions were also endorsed in conclusions by the Council of Ministers.

This report assesses the progress made by Bulgaria in the core CVM areas of judicial reform, anti-corruption work, and the fight against organised crime. These are issues at the heart of the modernisation of Bulgarian society: for reform to succeed, it needs a consistent and coherent approach based on a broad consensus in Bulgarian society. The fact that the period covered by this report was characterised by three different governments has not helped to build this consensus, though events have also illustrated a widespread public aspiration for reform.

The Commission believes that the monitoring process of the CVM, the opportunities provided by EU funds and the constructive engagement of the Commission and many Member States continues to be a valuable support to reform in Bulgaria. The next formal report will come in around one year's time.

• Primary Source

EUR-Lex: COM(2014)36: Follow the progress of this report through the decision-making procedure http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/HIS/?uri=COM:2014:036:FIN

ESO: Background information: Commission issues report on progress in Bulgaria under the Co-operation and Verification Mechanism http://www.europeansources.info/record/press-release-commission-issues-report-on-progress-in-bulgaria-under-the-co-operation-and-verification-mechanism/

EUR-Lex: SWD(2014)36: Bulgaria: Technical Report http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=SWD:2014:036:FIN

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