During the plenary session (5-8 October 2020) of the European Parliament in Brussels, MEPs debate and vote a resolution on the situation of rule of law and fundamental rights as well as the ongoing protests against corruption and alleged state capture in Bulgaria.

Rule of law and fundamental rights in Bulgaria: extracts from the debate (05/10), from the vote and illustration shots

SOUNDBITE (German), Michael ROTH, German Presidency, We are going to have the first debate in October on the general rule of law situation in the European Union, and we as the Presidency then proposed that each country should be examined in detail. In order to have an informed, objective, non-discriminatory debate, which is also fact-based, we will start with five Member States. In November this will be Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Bulgaria and the Czech Republic in alphabetical order.

SOUNDBITE (English), Vera JOUROVA, EC Vice-President, The demonstrations show that citizens attach great importance to an independent and efficient judiciary and also to good governance. The Commission is also aware of the announcement made by Prime Minister Borissov on a possible revision of the Bulgarian Constitution.

SOUNDBITE (English), Vera JOUROVA, EC Vice-President, Constitutional reform should be subject to a large and inclusive debate, take the time to be able to reflect a large consensus and achieve the necessary checks and balances. A best practice is to seek the specific advice of organisations like the Venice Commission.

SOUNDBITE (English), Vera JOUROVA, EC Vice-President, In the October 2019 CVM report, the Commission was also clear that Bulgaria needs to ensure continued implementation of the necessary reforms, notably relating to judicial independence and the fight against corruption. Wrapping up any leftover from the accession process has always been the objective of the Commission.

SOUNDBITE (English), Didier REYNDERS, European Commissioner for Justice, The scope of the rule of law mechanism is broader than the cooperation and verification mechanism (CVM) and it covers not only judicial reform and the fight against corruption but also &ndash; as we have discussed just before &ndash; freedom and privileges, as well as institutional checks and balances. Let me reiterate once more that the Commission is determined to continue to use all the instruments at its disposal to address the concerns identified in the country.

SOUNDBITE (German), Manfred WEBER (EPP, DE), I would also like to say explicitly that Boyko Borisov leads a pro-European government. He initiated the introduction of the euro, he has always supported the rule of law mechanism in the Council, which we as the European Parliament are calling for. Boyko Borissow wants this rule of law mechanism. So it remains to be said that not everything is perfect, that many tasks still lie ahead of the Bulgarian government, but that Bulgaria is essentially on the right track.

SOUNDBITE (Spanish), Juan Fernando L&#211;PEZ AGUILAR (S&amp;D, ES), What we have seen lately are not progresses, but important shortfalls. There are concerns, we have seen 45 sentences from the court that has yet to be complied with. Rule of Law means separation of powers, but we see continuous allegations of judicial corruption and political intervention when it comes to persecuting political opponents.

SOUNDBITE (English), Ramona STRUGARIU (RE, RO), I have seen powerful names in some of our political families endorsing Mr. Borissov and his team and I just want to ask, do you know who you are endorsing? Because you are endorsing a carefully knitted network of people facing serious allegations of corruption, money laundering and fraud with European money and a system which is stepping on the rule of law, democracy and European values as we speak.

SOUNDBITE (English), Ramona STRUGARIU (RE, DE), I have seen powerful names in some of our political families endorsing Mr. Borissov and his team and I just want to ask, do you know who you are endorsing? Because you are endorsing a carefully knitted network of people facing serious allegations of corruption, money laundering and fraud with European money and a system which is stepping on the rule of law, democracy and European values as we speak.

SOUNDBITE (English), Daniel FREUND (Greens/EFA, DE), So when I asked the Bulgarians on the ground what we should do as the European Union, the reply was unanimous: everyone I met was telling me, &lsquo;Please stop the EU funds, because that money is not feeding hungry children. If you stop the money, you are basically taking away the caviar from corrupt oligarchs.

Announcement of the result on the vote on the resolution and sign showing the results: 358 in favour, 277 against, 56 abstentions.

Ilustrative shots: General views of Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria, 2 shots

Views of Bulgarian National Television, and newspaper kiosk, Sofia, Bulgaria (4 shots)

Public demonstration in front of the National assembly of the Republic of Bulgaria, Sofia, Bulgaria (5 shots)

Boyko BORISOV, Bulgarian Prime Minister, European Parliament, Strasbourg, France (2 shots)

General view of the national assembly building, the presidency building and the council of ministers building, Sofia, Bulgaria (1 shot)

Council of ministers building, Sofia, Bulgaria, (2 shots)

Presidency building and change of guard, Sofia, Bulgaria 

Datum prireditve	8. 10. 2020
Reference:	I196030V
Oblika:	16:9 format
Copyright:	© European Union
copyrightYear:	2020

Rule of law and fundamental rights in Bulgaria: extracts from the debate (05/10), from the vote and illustration shots

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