A total of 466 million euros under the Recovery and Resilience Plan are at risk due to unimplemented reforms related to the anti-corruption legislation and the investigation mechanism of the Prosecutor General. This was announced by the acting Deputy Prime Minister for European Funds Maria Nedina at a briefing in the Council of Ministers, quoted by Dariknews.bg. According to her, talks are underway with the European Commission on a possible short extension of the deadline for the anti-corruption law until mid-May, and there have been positive signals that this could limit potential losses.
According to Nedina, the amount includes 357 million euros tied to the adoption of the Anti-Corruption Law, as well as another 109 million euros related to the Prosecutor General's Investigation Law. Part of the funds have already been withheld under the second and third payments by the European Commission.
Nedina recalled that the caretaker government has already submitted a request for a fourth payment under the plan, but the delay in key commitments also calls into question additional financial resources for the country.
The deadline for adopting the Anti-Corruption Law expires on May 4, and that for the Prosecutor General's Investigation Mechanism - on June 22. “At the moment, everything is in the hands of the National Assembly“, said Nedina and expressed hope that the deputies will take quick action to prevent the loss of nearly half a billion euros.
The acting Deputy Prime Minister emphasized that these are reforms of importance not only for European funding, but also for the Bulgarian economy and society. According to her, any new delay could lead to the accumulation of negative consequences in future mechanisms, including under the cohesion policy and operational programs.
Nedina added that the government has already taken action to coordinate the draft laws with the European Commission and they are expected to be submitted to the National Assembly in a short time.
The draft of the Prosecutor General's Investigation Act provides for the creation of a new figure - a controlling prosecutor. He will monitor the actions of the prosecutor charged with investigating possible crimes committed by the Prosecutor General or his deputies.
Justice Minister Andrey Yankulov explained that both bills provide for automatic or mandatory judicial control over certain acts of the prosecutor's office.
“Regardless of whether it concerns corruption crimes or acts committed by the Prosecutor General or his deputy, the initiation of judicial control will no longer require the express will of an injured person or a damaged organization, as is currently the case“, Yankulov pointed out.