Bulgaria and the Euro: What Happens to National Monetary Sovereignty?
One of the most debated topics around Bulgaria’s upcoming transition from the lev to the euro is whether the country is giving up its sovereignty
The Bulgarian Justice minister, Margarita Popova, has lashed out at politically supported crime and corruption which, she claimed, prevent the police from carrying out their obligations.
"In Bulgaria there are no trained modern investigative criminal police, and this is due to organized crime and corruption, which enjoy political support," she said in a Sunday interview on Bulgarian National Radio (BNR).
"I am asking, since 2001, when hundreds of thousands of euros were spent on twinning projects in order to begin construction of a modern criminal police force, why did it not happen, who blocks these ideas and these changes?" the minister asked.
Popova said that the draft Law on Forfeiture of Illegally Acquired Property, as well as amendments to the Penal and Criminal Procedure Codes, were considered by Eurpoean Union ambassadors to Bulgaria country as positive reformative steps.
According to Popova, however, the Justice Ministry has to do more work in interpretation of the law, particularly the one according to which the state would confiscate the property of anyone whose income and assets over the past 20 years has exceeded BGN 60 000.
"These changes are very strategic, but society and the general mass of people, when it comes to radical reforms, are more difficult and more slow to be won over," said Popova.
According to her, adoption of amendments to penal laws would mean that the political class had said "yes" to the decisive struggle against corruption and organized crime.
Brussels has unofficially warned Bulgaria’s Finance Minister Temenuzhka Petkova that the country’s euro adoption process could be suspended, according to BGNES, citing Nova TV.
"Everyone wants positions – in regulatory bodies and ministries," he emphasized.
Bulgaria’s toll system now has the technical capability to track average vehicle speeds, as announced by the National Toll Management following a meeting with Regional Development Minister Violeta Koritarova.
The income required to cover living expenses for a working individual and a three-member family with a child under 14 has remained almost unchanged compared to June, according to an analysis by the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria (CI
The Council of Ministers has adopted a resolution to set the minimum wage at 1,077 leva, reflecting a 15.
Every 20 minutes, fire alerts are received from across Bulgaria.
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