site.btaContinue the Change Party to Vote against Counter-Corruption Commission’s Dissolution

The Continue the Change (CC) party will vote against the closure of the Commission for Counteracting Corruption (the Counter-Corruption Commission), MP Ivaylo Shotev stated on Nova News television on Saturday. He warned that shutting down the commission would put at risk the funds allocated under the Recovery and Resilience Plan.

During the autumn session of Parliament, a new bill will be introduced proposing that the commission’s core functions be reduced to two: identifying conflicts of interest and ensuring transparency regarding the assets of individuals in high public office, said former justice minister Atanas Slavov, current MP from Democratic Bulgaria (CC’s coalition partner), who also took part in the broadcast.

Slavov recalled that a week ago, his group had already called for significant reforms of the commission. According to him: “No one doubts that the current leadership of the commission is serving [Delyan] Peevski and [Boyko] Borissov.”

“I don’t think the closure of such a body is a workable option,” Slavov added, although he declined to specify how he and his colleagues would vote should a proposal to dissolve the commission be formally tabled in Parliament.

A political standoff has emerged in Bulgaria over the future of the 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.