site.btaEPPO Ruling Against Bulgarian European Prosecutor Deals Another Severe Blow to Justice System, Caretaker Minister Yankulov Says

Ahead of Thursday’s meeting of the Plenum of the Supreme Judicial Council, caretaker Justice Minister Andrey Yankulov said that the case of Bulgarian European Prosecutor Teodora Georgieva, who was found guilty of serious misconduct by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO), represents yet another severe blow to the image of Bulgarian justice.

Georgieva was found guilty in disciplinary proceedings initiated against her by the institution, and her dismissal has been proposed. The decision, which does not mention her name, became known through a statement published by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office.

According to Yankulov, this provides grounds to believe that more should have been done to “untangle the networks of parallel justice in Bulgaria”, one of which, in his words, is the so-called Eight Dwarfs case, shorthand for a high-profile scandal involving allegations of influence peddling within the judiciary and the takeover of businesses.

Yankulov said he was not familiar with the motives behind the EPPO’s decision or with the details of the inspection carried out by the institution, and that he does not know the specific reasons for the ruling. “It is of crucial importance what exactly the grounds of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office are for taking this decision. I would like to find out what they are, whether this will be possible is a separate issue,” he said.

Regarding the still ongoing procedure to fill Bulgaria’s quota for a European Prosecutor, Minister Yankulov said that the actions taken so far would be reviewed. He explained that the procedure remains pending and has not yet been completed at the level of the European institutions. According to the minister, it is difficult to provide guarantees that the procedure meets all the necessary standards so as to result in a choice that would not once again discredit the justice system at some point in the future.