The authority of the Bulgarian Interior Minister to sign under the use of special surveillance devices (SRS) is going to be transferred to the Chief Secretary of the Interior, who will not be mandated to notify the Minister.

The proposal was made Monday by Prime Minister, Boyko Borisov, during a meeting dedicated to the SRS use with the Justice Minister, Margarita Popova, the Chair of the Supreme Court of Cassations, Lazar Gruev, and Chief Prosecutor, Boris Velchev.

Borisov says since the time he held the post of Chief Secretary it was obvious to him a political figure has no business dealing with SRS, which must be the responsibility of the professional leadership of the Ministry.

As a whole, the control of SRS must be divided between the Chief Secretary, the judge in the case, and the heads of the respective directorates, according to the PM.

The judge issuing the warrant for the SRS must monitor and control their use and destruction. Judges also must sign only as many warrants as they can control, otherwise the abuse will continue, Borisov points out.

All participants in the meeting have joined around the idea and the need for stronger and stricter control and more transparency of wiretapping in Bulgaria in order to eliminate any possible critics on the part of the European Commission so that Bulgaria can be taken out of the Mechanism for Cooperation and Verification set by the EU.

Velchev has pointed out three changes in the use and control of SRS must be implemented – increased effectiveness and application mainly in organized crime cases; increase the guarantees that citizens' rights will not be violated, and separate SRS from politics.

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