At a snail’s pace: How EU bureaucracy undermines fundamental rights

The EU Commission has recently launched an infringement procedure against Bulgaria in view of its breaches of Directive 2016/343 on the presumption of innocence and on grounds I have been raising in formal complaints to EU institutions since 2018. My 5-year long disillusioning experience of raising concerns about Bulgaria's deliberate breaches of EU law before the EU Parliament and the EU Commission may serve as a case study providing some food for thought about the value of fundamental rights in the eyes of these EU institutions, as well as their handling of reasoned citizen complaints

Short but sweet: Bulgaria's short-lived 45th National Assembly as a first step towards reforms

On 11 May 2021, Bulgaria’s President Rumen Radev issued a decree appointing a caretaker government, which means that the dissolution of the 45th National Assembly is imminent. This National Assembly, which was first convened on 15 April 2021, was rather short-lived, but it paved the way to fairer elections and much needed reforms in the justice system which civil society demands. If the next National Assembly, which will be elected in July 2021, takes the meaningful Bills which were proposed in the 45th Parliament on board, the slow process of dismantling the autocracy built by Boyko Borissov will start. Unsurprisingly, the defenders of the status quo are trying to resist these necessary changes, going as far as misleading the institutions of the EU and the Council of Europ

Extradition to Russia from an EU member state: judicial incompetence, political bias, or just another sign of rule of law decay?

On 8 August 2022, a Bulgarian Regional Court, acting as a first instance, allowed the extradition of Alexey Alchin, a Russian national who burned his passport at an anti-war protest, to Russia upon the request of the Russian Prosecutor’s Office. Whereas the decision by the Varna Regional Court is not final and subject to appeal, it merits unpacking because of its implications. The Chair of the Bulgaria Helsinki Committee, Krassimir Kanev, has already deemed that the court has shown ‘intolerable bias’ and an interest in ‘pleasing’ the Russian government. However, one may also ponder if the decision does not reveal a much deeper problem within Bulgaria’s justice system. On the one hand, one may suspect Russian meddling behind the scenes because of Bulgaria’s Prosecutor’s Office unhealthy relationship with Russia’s Prosecutor’s Office. On the other hand, the cherry-picking of applicable provisions, in which the court has engaged, serves as yet another red flag about the deplorable state of Bulgaria’s rule of law

Impunity: the unbearable difficulty of dismissing a General Prosecutor for abuses of office and other crimes

The procedural tricks to which Bulgaria's Supreme Judicial Council has resorted to avoid examining two requests for the dismissal of General Prosecutor Ivan Geshev for omissions and actions which undermine the prestige of the judiciary provide further proof that this institution is one of the main reasons why a sitting General Prosecutor of Bulgaria can abuse his office and commit crimes with impunity

Bulgaria’s media jungle: the good, the bad and the ugly

The media landscape in Bulgaria seems grim at the moment – oversaturated with tabloids and politically-slanted, oligarchic-owned outlets. The few independent and professional journalists face harassment and prosecution. Boyko Borissov’s recent fall from power gives some hope that things may change in the long run. However, there are a few caveats

Framing and raiding: Bulgaria’s Kafkaesque Prosecutor’s Office

In early June 2021, Bulgaria’s Prosecutor’s Office raided the Ministry of Interior and raised charges against a senior employee. According to the Minister of Interior Boyko Rashkov, the goal of the Prosecutor’s Office is to sabotage an inquiry into illegal wiretapping. The senior employee who was charged indeed participated in the inquiry. A similar raid against the Bulgarian Presidency in July 2020 during which two of the President’s advisors were arrested sparked mass protests demanding the resignation of both Borissov’s government and General Prosecutor Ivan Geshev which lasted for months. Bulgaria’s Prosecutor’s Office is a Kafkaesque institution rather than a mere threat against the rule of law. Its crushing yet unrestrained authority is used as a weapon against the opponents of the status quo and a laundry detergent for corrupt politicians

Snap elections in Bulgaria: who is ready for political suicide?

While the GERB party was weakened further in the July snap elections in Bulgaria, dismantling the structures it left behind will require the coming together of civil society and remaining political forces

Who is who in the Bulgarian coup?

The downfall of Bulgaria’s new anti-corruption government is still shrouded in mystery. Whilst domestic figures well known for their controversial practices are suspected of orchestrating an effective coup, the evidence also points to potential Russian involvement in these events

Yellow light for disciplining inconvenient judges? The ECtHR’s ambivalent judgment in Todorova v Bulgaria

The ECtHR judgment in the case of the disciplinary proceedings against Bulgarian judge Miroslava Todorova attracted much attention. On the surface, it appears that the judgement is a mere example of the ‘Justice delayed is justice denied’ legal maxim – after all, the application was submitted in 2013 and the Court ruled against Bulgaria only in 2021. However, a closer look reveals that the ECtHR found in favor of Bulgaria on the two most worrisome questions – compatibility of the disciplinary proceedings against Todorova with Article 6 (fair trial) and Article 8 (right to private life) of the ECHR. This leads to the sad conclusion that unless a judge picks up a public fight with the government, she cannot defend herself before the ECtHR against bogus disciplinary proceedings. While judge Todorova tried to highlight some systemic issues of Bulgaria’s justice system in her application, the ECtHR treated her case as an exception intimately tied to her role as president of a professional organization, and thus may have limited access to relief for other judges in similar circumstances

Bulgaria’s constitutional drama and the EU Commission’s rose-colored glasses

On 26 July 2024, Bulgaria's Constitutional Court declared a significant part of constitutional amendments enacted in a rush in December 2023 unconstitutional. These amendments were allegedly aimed at the depoliticization of the Supreme Judicial Council and the decentralization of the Prosecutor's Office, and had been praised as progress in the country's latest Rule of Law report by the EU Commission. Yet, a closer look shows that the amendments do not comply with key recommendations by the Venice Commission and could worsen an already dire situation. Sadly, in the case of Bulgaria, the EU Commission has a long history of seeing progress when the rule of law is under assault