site.btaCC-DB: European Commission's Report on Rule of Law in Bulgaria Points to Lack of Significant Progress in Judiciary

Speaking from Parliament’s rostrum on Thursday, Continue the Change – Democratic Bulgaria (CC-DB) co-floor leader Nikolay Denkov said that “this year’s report of the European Commission on the rule of law in Bulgaria is even harsher and more critical than the previous ones.” “It points to a lack of any significant progress in aligning Bulgaria’s judiciary with European standards over the past year,” he said, referring to the 2025 Rule of Law Report published on Tuesday. 

Denkov added that the report says that “there is no judicial reform because it has been blocked by a decision of the Constitutional Court; there is no mechanism to deter the political influence that permeates all levels of the judiciary, including the Supreme Judicial Council and its Inspectorate.” “There are no guarantees for the independence of the [Supreme] Prosecutorial Council or the Prosecutor General, nor for investigations into high-level corruption,” Denkov said. “There has been no reform in the anti-corruption commission nor any guarantees of independence in the elections of its members. These 35 pages of the report make it clear that there is no independent justice in Bulgaria,” he said.

“On the very day Bulgaria achieved a major foreign policy success in its European integration - joining the euro area - the annual report on the rule of law in Bulgaria for 2025 was published. This report came as if to remind us of the major domestic goals we have not yet achieved as politicians and as a society,” Denkov said. He said that the report serves as a reminder of “the battles we must continue to fight to protect and strengthen democracy in Bulgaria.”

He went on to link the report’s findings with recent events, describing “an unprecedented, well-coordinated and orchestrated attack against an opposition party and its representatives in the local government.” Denkov said with their recent actions, the anti-corruption commission and the prosecution service “demonstrated selective justice, directing all their power towards the democratic opposition in the country.” The CC-DB co-floor leader added that “there seems to be a return of all the denounced practices from the now-defunct specialized court: showy home and office raids, arrests without charges or evidence, and intense pressure for false testimony.” “Bulgaria is becoming a country where human rights are brutally violated,” he said. “We, the CC-DB parliamentary group, will continue fighting for the political independence of the justice system and the implementation of European standards on the rule of law. We call on all brave citizens to rise up against lawlessness and say ‘no’ to fear,” Denkov said.

He addressed Wednesday’s protest in Varna in support of the city’s mayor, Blagomir Kotsev, who was detained Tuesday night under a police order tied to an investigation by the anti-corruption commission and Sofia City Prosecution Office. Denkov said that thousands of people turned up. “They were not organized. We do not pay for buses with protestors,” he added. “The people of Varna say they have never had a more sympathetic and honest mayor. They do not believe the accusations against him and they will stand by him,” Denkov said. “The protesters have invited [GERB leader] Boyko Borissov to come to Varna and hear directly what they think of him.”