site.btaGERB Deputy Floor Leader: Anti-Corruption Commission Selection Rules to Be Adopted on July 11, Enabling Application for Second RRP Payment

The rules for selecting the Anti-Corruption Commission members will be adopted in the plenary session on July 11, after which a request may be sent to the European Commission (EC) for the second payment under the Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP), GERB Deputy Floor Leader Raya Nazaryan told journalists on Wednesday on the sidelines of Parliament.

Nazaryan noted that prior to this, the Counter-Corruption Act must be amended following last year’s Constitutional Court ruling, which invalidated the two-thirds majority requirement for electing the Commission. “The Commission will now be elected by a majority of 121 MPs, instead of a two-thirds majority as before,” Nazaryan explained.

Earlier on Wednesday, the parliamentary majority rejected a proposal by Assen Vassilev from Continue the Change – Democratic Bulgaria (CC-DB) to include in the weekly agenda a draft decision for adopting rules for the nomination and election procedure of the Commission’s members. Vassilev stressed that the budget cannot be fulfilled without receiving funds under the RRP, which is only possible if the rules for selecting the commission are adopted.

Nazaryan emphasized that, in recent months, significant efforts have been made to catch up with all measures and reforms related to the second payment under the RRP. She noted that amendments to the Whistleblower Protection Act, the Civil Procedure Code concerning mediation and a Bill on Personal Bankruptcy have already been adopted. The rules for the Commission’s selection were left for last, as they are the easiest to approve, she explained.

On Wednesday, Justice Minister Georgi Georgiev will send the rules, approved by the EC, to the Parliamentary Corruption Prevention Committee, Nazaryan said. On Thursday, the Legal Affairs Committee and the Anti-Corruption Committee will hold a joint meeting, she added.

GERB Deputy Floor Leader further said that next week, the amendments will be reviewed in the relevant parliamentary committee at a second reading. On July 10, the rules for selecting the Commission are expected to be adopted in the committee, and on July 11 in the plenary session. After that, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Innovation and Growth Tomislav Donchev will be able to send a payment request to the European Commission upon full compliance with all measures under the second payment of the Plan, Nazaryan added. 

Asked whether she expects support from CC-DB, Nazaryan said it would be appropriate, as the anti-corruption reform was adopted jointly. She emphasized that for the first time in Bulgaria, the procedure will be transparent, involving a nomination committee and external members independent of political parties.