site.btaProsecutor General Ivan Geshev Holds Meetings on First Day of His Visit to European Parliament

The activity of the Bulgarian prosecutor's office in countering the malign Russian influence in Bulgaria and the Balkan region was the focus of talks that Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev held on the first day of his visit to the European Parliament in Brussels, said the prosecutor's office on Wednesday.

Geshev stressed to Rainer Wieland, Vice President of the EP, that targeted actions are needed to strengthen European values among Bulgarian society, while avoiding manifestations of intolerance contradicting Bulgaria's strategic Euro-Atlantic orientation. Wieland expressed the opinion that the European community should be united in defending the fundamental democratic principles.

Ivan Geshev expressed to the Vice-Chairman of the EP Committee on Legal Affairs, Raffaele Stancanelli, his position that the institution led by him will continue to act uncompromisingly to deter the promotion of foreign interests in the country, especially in the context of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Geshev and Stancanelli discussed challenges to the Bulgarian rule of law. The former presented the position of the Bulgarian prosecutor's office on the need to update the legal framework, as well as to defend the independence of the judiciary as an essential element of strengthening the rule of law.

Geshev also held a working meeting with the Chairperson of the EP Committee on Budgetary Control Monika Hohlmeier. The Prosecutor briefed the representative of the European Parliament on current cases of the work of the Bulgarian prosecutor's office, where facts and circumstances of concern have been established about actions taken with the participation of Bulgarian and other citizens, aimed at promoting anti-democratic and Eurosceptic priorities of the country. The conversation took place in the context of ongoing investigations into influence peddling and organised crime, involving individuals with known links to Russian individuals and entities, including those under European sanctions in connection with Russia's war against Ukraine. In this regard, Ivan Geshev and Monika Hohlmeier discussed the need to counter money laundering and intensify the work on preventing suspicious transactions of funds and cryptocurrency transactions. The two sides underlined the commitment of the EU members and the European institutions to crack down on financial flows aimed at undermining confidence in European values and security.

On the first day of Geshev's working visit to the EP, the Prosecutor General held talks with Eva-Maria Popcheva, a Spanish MEP of Bulgarian origin.