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Improving Governance in Bulgaria: Evaluating the Impact of EU Conditionality through Policy and Financial Assistance

Author(s): Ruslan Stefanov,Stefan Karaboev / Language(s): English

The paper examines the impact on Bulgaria’s anti-corruption performance of the interrelation between EU policy conditionality and EU financial assistance, with a focus on post-accession developments. Although the EU never formally linked EU assistance to progress on anti-corruption, the disbursement of funds has tended to peak around critical deadlines for accession progress, e.g. the signing of the accession treaty in 2005, and the expiration of the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism’s (CVM) safeguard clauses in 2010. Both years also marked the lowest levels of corruption experienced by Bulgaria’s citizens. This suggests that the combined effect of EU anticorruption conditionality and development assistance on governance in Bulgaria was positive - but temporary. Moreover, the 2015 CVM monitoring report suggests that, eight years after EU accession, Bulgaria still faces three key governance challenges – combatting high-level corruption, building an institutional approach to anti-corruption, and judicial independence. In 2014, public experience of corruption reached its highest level since the first comparable research in 1998. The lack of anti-corruption conditionality or credible enforcement mechanisms since 2010 has seen Bulgaria backslide in the fight against corruption. The current EU approach and development assistance for anticorruption reforms have been insufficient to put Bulgaria on a virtuous circle path to open access order (or a good governance model), and has not been able to compensate for the lack of domestic political commitment to anticorruption reform. The paper’s findings suggest that the EU and Bulgarian anti-corruption stakeholders need to find new strategies for bringing about lasting governance change. This analysis is part of Work Package 8 of the EU FP7 ANTICORRP Project, comprising eight case study reports looking at the impact of EU conditionality and EU aid in countries in new EU member states, the European Neighbourhood and beyond. Other than Bulgaria, the case studies review Bosnia and Herzegovina, Egypt, Ghana, Kosovo, Tanzania, Tunisia and Ukraine. The integrated case study report is available at the official ANTICORRP webpage.

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Model Approach for Investigating the Financing of Organised Crime

Author(s): Author Not Specified / Language(s): English

The financing of organised crime is a horizontal issue for all criminal markets, although it rarely falls in the focus of law enforcement agencies. The intelligence gathering of law enforcement agencies has traditionally been focused on uncovering the members of crime groups and tracing the illicit goods or services. Financial transactions are traced mainly for the purposes of money laundering investigations, where the focus is on the proceeds and not on the investments related to the criminal activities. The reason for this is that currently criminal prosecution procedures in all Member States are entirely focused on collecting evidence in regards to possession, transporting, manufacturing or sale of illicit products or services. Financing of organised crime is also often passed over in threat assessments and strategic analyses of organised crime.

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Миграция и вътрешна сигурност. Предизвикателствата пред миграционните политики на Европейския съюз и България

Author(s): Denislava Simeonova / Language(s): Bulgarian

Traditionally, migration processes are examined in the context of the labor market, humanitarian crises or social integration. The present study reveals a new dimension of migration which is considered one of the new security risks. The first chapter of the paper defines the various forms of migration with a focus on the consequences of illegal immigration. The second part discusses immigration as a threat to the public order and societal security in the EU member states and looks into the main stages of development of an EU immigration policy. After a review of the most important political and legal documents of the EU since the 80s, the study concludes that despite the active work of both the member states and the European Commission, currently a common European policy in the field of immigration does not exist. Further, the study examines the new trends in migration to the EU and the challenges to the establishment of a European “area of security, freedom and justice”, such as the anti-terrorism measures and the need for “replacement migration” due to the demographic changes. The third chapter is dedicated to Bulgaria as a country of origin and transit for immigrants to the EU. The main conclusion is that Bulgarian citizens represent a small percentage of the total number of immigrants in the EU and do not put its integrity and social security at risk. Particular attention is paid to the achievements of Bulgaria in harmonizing its immigration legislation with the “acquis communautaire” as well as to the need of further institutional and legislative improvements. The study also touches upon the following issues: • Who are the immigrants in the European Union and do they pose a risk to the internal order and safety of the European citizens? • Is the post-enlargement “immigrant wave” realistic? • What is EU’s reaction to the immigration from third countries? • What is the Bulgarian immigration policy with regard to the future external border of the EU? • What are the “pushing” factors for the Bulgarian immigrants to the EU? • How the EU countries treat Bulgarian immigrants?

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Съдебната реформа в България: Възможности за развитие на модерна система за регистрация

Author(s): Author Not Specified / Language(s): Bulgarian

The brochure was published for the workshop Reforming Judiciary in Bulgaria: Towards the Introduction of Modern Registration System held in September 2002. It contains the full text of the report on the opportunities for developing Central Register of Legal Entities and Electronic Registries Center in Bulgaria, developed by the CSD Task Force, presentation of the experience of Norway and other European countries as well as information on the operation of the European Business Register.

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Changes and Amendements to the Privatization Law Adopted by the National Assembly in June 1994

Author(s): Valentin Karabashev / Language(s): English

Bulgaria adopted its Privatization Law in 1992 - later than the other Central and Eastern European countries. (Actually, under the provisions of other Bulgarian governmental regulations, some privatization started before the adoption of the Law; however, most enterprises became eligible for privatization beginning in mid - 1992.) The Privatization Law favors capital privatization, i.e. sale, rather than free distribution of state property. This approach was accepted because of the belief that ownership should be transferred to persons with proper management skills and the ability to provide fresh investment.

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Drug Use in Bulgaria. National representative survey, December, 2002 – January, 2003

Author(s): Author Not Specified / Language(s): English

On March 14, 2003 the Center for the Study of Democracy hosted a round table on Public-Private Partnerships in Preventing Drug Abuse and Trafficking. Experts from government agencies and non-governmental organizations were invited to the discussion. Experts from the Working Group on the Abuse and Trafficking of Drugs at the Center for the Study of Democracy presented the results of the first national representative survey on drugs consumption in Bulgaria. Experts from the Sofia Directorate of Internal Affairs, the National Service for Combating Organized Crime, Customs Agency, National Council on Narcotics, Bulgarian Youth Red Cross and Free and Democratic Bulgaria Foundation took part in the discussion.

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E-Tools for Criminal Case Management within Selected EU Member States

Author(s): Author Not Specified / Language(s): English

In recent years, public authorities have begun to adopt several statutory reforms to incorporate ICT into everyday tasks of judicial systems’ actors. In the European sphere, the concept of e-justice has been mainly developed in justice administration. This publication provides comparative analysis of current practices of justice recordkeeping and the electronic tools for measuring the judicial system performance in Finland, Belgium, Greece, Italy, Spain, Germany, and England and Wales as well as an overview of the introduction of ICT in the judiciaries of Bulgaria and Poland.

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EXPERT EVALUATION NETWORK DELIVERING POLICY ANALYSIS ON THE PERFORMANCE OF COHESION POLICY 2007-2013. YEAR 1 – 2011. TASK 2: COUNTRY REPORT ON ACHIEVEMENTS OF COHESION POLICY. BULGARIA.

Author(s): Daniela Mineva,Ruslan Stefanov / Language(s): English

DG Regional Policy at the European Commission published a Report on Bulgaria's progress on the Renewable Energy Sources (RES) and Energy Efficiency in Buildings and an Evaluation Report on the Achievements of the Cohesion Policy in Bulgaria. The two reports were prepared by CSD experts in the framework of the Expert Evaluation Network delivering policy analysis on the performance of the Cohesion Policy 2007 - 2013. The first report provides an overview of the available support by the EU Structural Funds and the national instruments promoting RES and energy efficiency in buildings. It also describes the legislative framework and the operation of various state institutions in this area. The report lists the remaining challenges to the management authorities, the businesses and the households which aim to utilize more efficiently the EU financial assistance and to reduce the energy poverty in the country. The second report reviews all supported areas by the Cohesion Policy in Bulgaria and in particular the assistance provided by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). The report is based on statistical and financial data and interviews with representatives of the Managing Authorities of Operational Programmes (OPs). The text describes the progress under the OPs and the impact of the economic crisis on the implementation of the financed projects. The report presents the main conclusions drawn from the OPs mid-term reviews and foregrounds the remaining challenges to Bulgaria.

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Телекомуникационната политика на България, юни 1995 г.

Author(s): Krastyo Mirski / Language(s): Bulgarian

Telecommunications (telecoms) are part of the global technical infrastructure. Their main purpose - to ensure the exchange of information of any kind, at any scale and in all directions, making them indispensable condition not only for economic development at national, regional and global scale, but also the emergence, implementation and strengthening of integration processes between the countries. They are the foundation of industrial, cultural and social development, trade and financial cooperation of modern science and education.

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България и Eвропейският съюз: околна среда и екологична политика, 1995

Author(s): Yordan Uzunov / Language(s): Bulgarian

On 1 February 1995 the European Association Agreement (EAA) of the Republic of Bulgaria to the European Union (EU) entered into force. In a special Declaration on this occasion, the Bulgarian Government noted that the Agreement corresponds to the priority national interests for integration into the European structures, stating explicitly that the European orientation is a top priority for Bulgaria.

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Свободното движение на услуги в политиката на присъединяване на Република България към Европейския съюз: обща характеристика на проблема, август 1995

Author(s): Author Not Specified / Language(s): Bulgarian

The removal of barriers to the free movement of services between the European Union and the Republic of Bulgaria and the approximation of the Bulgarian legal base to that of the European Union in the given sphere is a crucial issue of the accession policy of the Republic of Bulgaria to the European Union. This is due, on the one hand, to the importance of this free movement as part of the European acquis, to the fundamental nature of the freedom of movement of services for the completion of the European Union's internal market, and hence to the European Union itself.

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Тема “Транспорт” - Втори етап, 23 август 1995 г. ПРОЕКТ “ЕВРОПА 2000. БЪЛГАРИЯ И ЕВРОПЕЙСКИЯ СЪЮЗ”

Author(s): Author Not Specified / Language(s): Bulgarian

In a close historical context, the basis for settling all aspects of inter-state interests in transport is and continues to be the bilateral agreements of the Republic of Bulgaria with stakeholders in the field of rail, road, air, sea and river transport. Due to the public-political interest and the need to regulate the market spaces and the conditions for mutual access to the national infrastructure networks, respectively. Water and airspace, general agreements on combined transport, on dangerous goods transport, on seaman's passports and on a number of other issues have been concluded. In compliance with the provisions of the basic documents of the International Union of Railways, the Danube Commission, the International Maritime Organization, the International Road Transport Union, the International Civil Aviation Organization, etc. our country has undertaken and fulfills its commitments as an equal A participant in the European and global transport market. The Republic of Bulgaria has entered into working relations with EU bodies in the preparation and implementation of concrete actions for the integration of the national transport system with similar European structures in both institutional and operational operational and technical aspects.

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Анализ на правната рамка на регистрацията на неправителствените организации

Author(s): Author Not Specified / Language(s): Bulgarian

The analysis of the legal framework of non-profit legal entities shows that there is no uniform approach to the regulation of individual registers. The administrative burden of initial registration and the subsequent listing of changes is primarily on the non-profit legal entities themselves, while the office of initiation, where it is, is very limited. There are no rules or mechanisms for the exchange of information between individual registers, which often leads to a discrepancy between the information. Last but not least, the question of the need to have all these registers, especially those without specific legal significance, and whether the creation of a central register could not successfully replace the majority of them.

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Оценка за работата на съществуващите регистри на неправителствените организации в България

Author(s): Author Not Specified / Language(s): Bulgarian

According to the legislation in force, all non-profit legal entities (NPLEs) are obliged to register in the district courts where their headquarters are located. At the same time, a large number of them, apart from the basic register at the respective district court, are also registered in other registers depending on the activity they carry out.This report, in addition to the analysis of the legal framework, gives an idea of the practical problems with the operation of the registers, the registration and the use of information from them. It provides primary information on the attitude of different entities to the operation of existing registers in which non-profit legal entities are registered.

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Зелен растеж и устойчиво развитие: приоритети за България

Author(s): Denitsa Mancheva,Stefan Karaboev,Ruslan Stefanov / Language(s): Bulgarian

The report reviews the green growth and sustainable development for Bulgaria. According to the authors, the current pattern of energy use in Bulgaria (including both households and industry) is unsound. The country’s energy intensity is striking, when compared to other European countries, thus, Bulgaria’s overriding priority is stimulating energy efficiency by sufficiently utilizing EU funds. Measures to boost energy efficiency mean more jobs and revenues for Bulgarian SMEs, while measures promoting energy savings mean utilizing the existing capacity at a low or no extra cost

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Италианският опит в противодействието на изнудването и рекета

Author(s): Elena Sciandra,Antonio Iafano / Language(s): Bulgarian

Extortion racketeering is a crime which spans all sections of society, poses threats to the well-being of local communities and impairs the growth and development of business. No country is immune to it, although it varies across time, space and economic context. Extortion can be perpetrated by single offenders, or it can be part of more complex criminal schemes. In this sense, the case of Italy is typical because Italian mafias systematically resort to extortion racketeering.

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Копенхаген 2009: България, двойкаджията-отличник?

Author(s): Author Not Specified / Language(s): Bulgarian

Reaching an agreement at the Copenhagen conference on climate change starting on 7 December 2009 will be tough. Everyone is a sinner in a way: (1) the main advocates of binding agreement on climate change such as the European countries (EU plus Norway) and Japan are big emitters, taken together; (2) the main suspects - US and China are the biggest emitters, each in its own different way and are seen as dragging their feet over target agreements; (3) the rest are falling in between with less access to novel technologies and gaping inefficiencies in their economies. Bulgaria has evidently fulfilled its target commitments under Kyoto and it is a small emitter. Nevertheless, Bulgaria remains more carbon-intensive than China as per capita and than US as per GDP. Its inefficient economy, however, holds considerable potential for a greener future. This is particularly true for its industry. Bulgaria needs to take decisive actions in improving the energy efficiency of its industrial and energy production and in introducing green technologies and further measures for sustainable consumer behavior. But how much is it willing to pay for it?

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Енергийна (не)сигурност: решението на българския парламент за Южен поток засилва рисковете пред националната енергийна политика. Медийна бележка

Author(s): Author Not Specified / Language(s): Bulgarian

The decision of the Bulgarian Parliament from 4 April 2014 to adopt at first reading the amendments in the Energy Law, which grants South Stream special status highlights the lack of logic in the national energy policy and compounds the impression that public interest is not the driving force behind the proposed changes. The decision and the manner, in which it was taken, reveal some of the most serious problems in Bulgaria’s energy policy in terms of bad governance and corruption.The adopted amendments at first reading to the Energy Law demonstrate yet again the risks of state capture by third-party interests, which do not correspond or even contradict the public interest. The real problems, which Bulgarian society faces on a daily basis, such as energy poverty, high energy prices, and low diversification and energy efficiency receive only a fraction of the attention, in terms of institutional and policy-making focus, compared to projects such as South Stream. What is even more alarming is that the recent actions of the ruling majority take place in the context of increasing geostrategic insecurity and danger of confrontation, which further exacerbate the risks deriving from such decisions.

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Процесът Коалиция 2000 през 1999 г.

Author(s): Author Not Specified / Language(s): Bulgarian

The Report, discussed at the Policy Forum of Coalition 2000 in December 1999, presents the major activities of Coalition 2000 during 1999: -Clean Future Public Awareness Campaign; -The Institution of the People's Defender the Ombudsman; -International activities; -Monitoring.

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Употребата на наркотиците в България. Национално представително изследване, декември 2002 г. - януари 2003 г.

Author(s): Author Not Specified / Language(s): Bulgarian

On March 14, 2003 the Center for the Study of Democracy hosted a round table on Public-Private Partnerships in Preventing Drug Abuse and Trafficking. Experts from government agencies and non-governmental organizations were invited to the discussion. Experts from the Working Group on the Abuse and Trafficking of Drugs at the Center for the Study of Democracy presented the results of the first national representative survey on drugs consumption in Bulgaria. Experts from the Sofia Directorate of Internal Affairs, the National Service for Combating Organized Crime, Customs Agency, National Council on Narcotics, Bulgarian Youth Red Cross and Free and Democratic Bulgaria Foundation took part in the discussion.

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