site.btaSlavi Trifonov: Abolishing Counter-Corruption Commission Would Cost Bulgarians BGN 5 Bln

If the Counter-Corruption Commission is abolished, Bulgarians will lose BGN 5 billion, and the fight against corruption could be placed under single-handed control, There Is Such a People (TISP) party leader Slavi Trifonov wrote on his Facebook profile on Saturday.

“What interests are being pursued in the alliance between CC–DB and Delyan Peevski, I don’t know. But I do know that if this commission ceases to exist, firstly, the Bulgarian people will lose 5 billion from the Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP), and secondly, the fight against corruption will be subject to one-man control,” Trifonov added.

A political standoff has emerged in Bulgaria over the future of the Commission for Counteracting Corruption (Counter-Corruption Commission), as top leaders clash over whether to reform or abolish the body—an institution central to Bulgaria’s commitments under the EU’s Recovery and Resilience Facility.

Trifonov firmly stated in his post that the Counter-Corruption Commission must continue to function in its current form because it is “an essential condition for Bulgaria receiving funding—whether we like it or not.”

Referring to the CC–DB coalition, which had established the current structure of the commission and incorporated it into the RRP as a mandatory condition (which, in plain language, means that Bulgaria will not receive BGN 5 billion from the EU if the commission does not exist), Trifonov accused it of trying to abolish it simply because they are no longer in power and Boyko Rashkov, the former interior minister, will not be appointed to head it.

“They now want to abolish the commission—without caring that the Bulgarian people will lose five billion. And who has started to echo them today? Who wants this commission to be shut down? Who else doesn’t care that Bulgaria could lose 5 billion? The one whose lap they used to sit on, drinking syrupy coffee together. The same CC–DB people who are now once again backing him and supporting each other,” Trifonov wrote, alluding to Movement for Rights and Freedoms – New Beginning leader Delyan Peevski.

He concluded his post with a dig at GERB leader Boyko Borissov: “And since Boyko Borissov is publicly speaking about a new majority—CC–DB, New Beginning, Vazrazhdane, TISP and part of the BSP—let me also respond publicly and say that doctors advise people to stay indoors with air conditioning in such warm weather. Otherwise, blood pressure rises, people get confused and start talking irrational nonsense.”