EC Mulls Early Oral Report on Bulgaria

The European Commission might come up with a report on Bulgaria's progress in the spheres of justice and home affairs earlier then the previously scheduled date at the end of 2013.

The statement was made Saturday by EC Spokesperson Mark Gray, as cited by the Bulgarian National Radio.

He noted that after the report on neighboring Romania, the EC will inform the Council of Europe about issues in Bulgaria, reiterating Brussels was monitoring closely events in the country and an early report was possible.

Gray explained nothing concrete has been planned beyond the content of the report coming at the end of 2013. The EC spokesperson stressed it would be key to make a difference between the official report on Romania and the unofficial oral technical update of information on Bulgaria.

According to him, there was no exact date yet to release this information, which will be on expert, not a political level, all while it was important to note that Bulgaria had witnessed very important events in recent months.

Gray pointed out the focus of EC was now on senior judicial appointments that are already a fact, thus the effort would be directed at making them functional and at guaranteeing results in the justice system.

The EC spokesperson, however, pointed out that elections for Supreme Judicial Council, VSS, Constitutional Court, and Chief Prosecutor were internal matters of Bulgarian institutions. He admitted the Commission has indeed voiced alarm in some cases, but it stemmed from the procedure, its transparency, fairness, and integrity, not from concrete nominations.

Gray said Brussels is careful to not commit to give assessments or an official position about concrete individual candidates.