EU expects more results from Bulgaria on justice

Bulgaria has taken some measures to improve its justice system and the prosecution of organised crime but more convincing results are needed, according to an interim monitoring report by the European Commission.

The February report — released by Brussels on Wednesday — focuses on the technical implementation of recommendations made in an annual report in July, and does not contain political assessments of the situation in Bulgaria, EC Spokesperson Mark Gray stressed at a news conference in Brussels.

The Commission’s reports under the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism (CVM) are published twice a year to monitor Bulgaria’s post-EU accession progress in certain problem areas, namely justice and home affairs.

According to the European Commission, Bulgaria needs to make further efforts in the coming months “in order to demonstrate convincing results and to contribute to the Commission’s overall assessment in summer 2012 of progress achieved by Bulgaria under the CVM since its accession to the EU.”