“Bulgaria is ready and has the right to enter Schengen”, stated the Acting Minister of Justice Krum Zarkov on BNT.

“We have the understanding of the member states, the European Commission, and now a strong resolution is expected from the European Parliament”, he noted. “Bulgarians should have the same rights as Europeans”, commented Krum Zarkov.

"We accept the recommendations of the European Commission, we make the laws, we follow the Recovery and Resilience Plan, but we expect the same. When we have fulfilled all the criteria for our part, we should not be stopped for political reasons. This cannot go on. Bulgaria cannot have all the obligations from its entry into the European Union, and its citizens not enjoy all the rights," Krum Zarkov said.

Regarding the formation of a new government, he noted that there will be clear indications already this week when the first session of the new parliament is coming up. "I only know that before this parliament there are big challenges and little time to get them done," said Krum Zarkov, citing as examples the work on the budget and the Recovery and Resilience Plan.

“Many of the topics we worked on are on the agenda, this is not just a will of the caretaker cabinet, but a long process”, the acting minister of justice also said. “Among them are the law on mediation, the law on bankruptcy of natural persons, the law on the Anti-Corruption Commission”, he pointed out. "This bankruptcy law has been in the works for at least ten years in various versions. Banks are not happy about such a prospect, it is easier for them when there are obligations to sell them to others, who will collect them in not very pleasant ways," commented Krum Zarkov.

On the reform bill of the Anti-Corruption Commission, he said that the emphasis is not placed on the chairman of the committee, because these committees are made to be collegial. "We propose an investigative agency that would do something concrete - to pursue corruption at the highest levels of power. The chairman will change every year," he stated. "We are proposing a concept according to which one of the members of the commission will be the president's proposal, but the final decision rests with the deputies," Zarkov further explained.

“Even if you have one man above the law, you cannot have the rule of law. There is one important thing in this law - the possibility of judicial control over the prosecutor's office to initiate pre-trial proceedings. If you report to the prosecutor's office and they tell you that there is not enough data about committed crimes, you should contact another authority and they will check," the Minister of Justice explained.

“It is high time we take a step forward in justice reform”, he urged, and indicated that he hoped it would be done, as the proposals now came from a caretaker government that was not involved with political forces.

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