Bulgaria's anti-corruption steps approved by EU, Romania 'backtracks'

A portrait of slain television reporter Viktoria Marinova on the Liberty Monument in Ruse, Bulgaria in October 2018.Her body was dumped near the Danube River after she reported on the possible misuse of European Union funds in Bulgaria. Credit: AP Photo/Filip Dvorski

The European Commission has said it is to end the corruption monitoring program it has had in Bulgaria since it joined the bloc in 2007.

But it says that monitoring of the situation in Romania will continue, saying that "backtracking" identified in a 2018 report had continued.

Both countries have been subjected to the monitoring and progress reports on judicial reform and anti-corruption measures for 12 years.

The idea was that without improvements the weaknesses "could prevent an effective application of EU laws, policies and programs and prevent Bulgarians and Romanians from enjoying their full rights as EU citizens."

Liviu Dragnea, the head of Romania's ruling Social Democratic party was sentenced to three and a half years in prison in 2019 for intervening to keep two women on the payroll of a family welfare agency, even though they were working for his party instead. Credit: AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda

In its report published on Tuesday, the EU said that Bulgaria had made the necessary progress to reform its judicial system, tackle corruption and also crack down on organised crime. From now on, progress will be monitored internally in Bulgaria.

The verdict on Romania is not as positive from the European Commission, which says it "has had to address frequently the developments in Romania relating to judicial reform and the fight against corruption. On each of these occasions, the commission has confirmed backtracking from the progress made in previous years."

The report comes three weeks before Romania holds presidential elections.

The conclusions of the European Commission's Cooperation and Verification Mechanism reports are subject to agreement by other member states and the European Parliament.

You can read the full report here.