site.btaBulgaria Holds Public Hearing for European Prosecutor Candidates

A public hearing began at the Supreme Judicial Council building for the seven candidates nominated as European Prosecutor from the Republic of Bulgaria.

The candidates are Boyko Atanasov, Desislava Pironeva, Dimitar Belichev, Ivaylo Iliev, Mihaela Raidovska, Plamen Petkov and Svetlana Shopova-Koleva.

The hearing is the second stage of the selection process, after which the seven-member commission will propose three candidates from the seven nominees. With a report by the Justice Minister, the nominations should be submitted for approval by the Council of Ministers and should then be sent to the competent EU bodies for further selection. European Prosecutors are appointed by the Council of the EU for a six-year term, with the new term expected to begin on July 29, 2026. 

The term of Bulgaria’s first European Prosecutor, Teodora Georgieva, expires on July 29, 2026. She was temporarily suspended due to an ongoing disciplinary investigation, with Dimitar Belichev appointed as her deputy.

Members of the special selection commission include Ministry of Justice Secretary-General Venera Milova; Veronika Imova and Tsvetinka Pashkunova from the Judges' College of the Supreme Judicial Council; Kalina Chapkanova and Gergana Mutafova from the Prosecutor’s College; and Professor Georgi Mitov from the Department of Criminal Law Studies at the Faculty of Law, Sofia University St. Kliment Ohridski.