Asked to comment on the latest interim Cooperation and Verification Mechanism (CVM) Report of the European Commission on Bulgaria, Bulgarian Justice Minister Diana Kovacheva said that it was not the most critical of all published since 2007.

"The evaluation given in the EC report is not about the government but about Bulgaria and the institutions – the court, the prosecution and the Interior Ministry", Kovacheva stated  on Thursday in an interview for private TV channel bTV.

She denied the suggestion that the report was a "slap in the face" for the Cabinet, adding that there were no slaps in the face between partners.

The Justice Minister drew attention to the fact that the CVM reports in 2009 and 2010 also contained criticism about voting procedures in Bulgaria and alleged vote-buying.

"It is an achievement that Bulgaria has an Election Code which was aligned with the recommendations of the Venice Commission," Kovacheva insisted.

She admitted, however, that the presidential and local elections held in end-October 2011 had been characterized by serious organizational problems, which had occurred due to the lack of preparation of the election administration.

Kovacheva went on to stress the positive conclusions of the report.

Among the achievements he listed the launch of the Commission for Prevention and Ascertainment of Conflict of Interest, the final verdicts issued on high-profile cases and the creation of the specialized court and prosecutor's office.

The work of the Supreme Court of Cassation on ensuring a consistent and unified interpretation of the law had also been well appreciated, Kovacheva noted.

The Justice Minister argued that the cooperation between the courts, the prosecution and the investigative authorities had improved, while the conflict between Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov and Miroslava Todorova, Chair of the Bulgarian Judges Association (BJA) and a judge at the Sofia City Court was a "private issue".

On Wednesday, Todorova filed a libel lawsuit against Tsvetan Tsvetanov over a series of accusations leveled by him on TV.

In a series of media appearances three weeks ago, Tsvetanov claimed that Todorova was incompetent in doing her job and was patronizing the mafia.

The Interior Minister, who is known for his occasional verbal attacks against the judiciary, argued that she had delayed the issuing of written motives for verdicts against a number of high-profile criminals.

In her Thursday interview, Kovacheva further explained that negative political talk in Bulgaria, be it substantiated by facts or not, had its impact on the content of the report and eroded Bulgaria's image abroad.

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