MONITORING REPORT BULGARIA MAY 2006

Contents
	INTRODUCTION
	POLITICAL CRITERIA
	ECONOMIC CRITERIA
	COMMITMENTS AND REQUIREMENTS ARISING FROM THE ACCESSION NEGOTIATIONS
	GENERAL EVALUATION

The Commission considers that Bulgaria fulfils the political criteria for EU membership and has done so continuously since 1997.
The aim of this report is to provide an assessment of certain areas that were considered to need further improvement in the 2005 October monitoring report. Eight such areas were identified: public administration reform; the justice system; the fight against corruption; the fight against trafficking in human beings; ill-treatment in custody and prison conditions; children protection; the disabled and mental healthcare system, and the protection and integration of the minorities.
This section assesses, in each of these outstanding areas, the developments that have occurred since the October 2005 report and Bulgaria's preparedness for membership.

Public administration

Since the October 2005 report, there has been progress in the following areas.
The Law on Administration was amended in March 2006. It introduces a clear distinction between the political and administrative levels in the state administration. The aim of this law is to clarify roles and responsibilities. The law also regulates involvement of public officials in the management of private companies and strengthens the role of the inspectorates. Amendments to the Civil Servant Act were also passed in March 2006. This Act provides for a competitive recruitment procedure, introduces the mobility principle in the state administration and promotes trainings for civil servants. The Code of Administrative Procedure was adopted in March 2006. Following this code, administrative Courts will be established and judges appointed by December 2006.
An updated strategy for the training of civil servants and a relevant action plan was adopted in March 2006. The strategy focuses on strengthening the Bulgarian administrative capacity in implementing the acquis, involving all stakeholders in the administrative reform process and enhancing professional capacity and qualification.
However, certain outstanding issues remain to be addressed.
The decentralisation strategy aiming at further decentralising powers and financial resources from the central to regional and municipal level has not been adopted.
Overall, Bulgaria has made good progress in the field of public administration and is on the way to have an efficient state administration provided that the current path of reform is maintained.

Justice system

Since the October 2005 report, there has been progress in the following areas.
In December 2005, the Minister of Justice developed an action plan for implementing the reform strategy for the period 2006-2007. In March 2006, the government approved a report on the implementation of the strategy for the reform of the judiciary. As regards the pre-trial phase, in January 2006 a mechanism to monitor the adequacy of the new penal procedure code which entered into force in April 2006 was established. An action plan for the training of magistrates on the implementation of the new Penal Procedure Code is being implemented. The law on legal aid and its implementing legislation, including on legal aid fees, entered into force in January 2006. A national bureau for legal aid was set up with a budget of over EUR 3 million. Implementing legislation on the Law on Private Enforcement Agents was adopted in February 2006. The budget for the judiciary has increased with 18% in 2006 to over EUR 136 million. The budget of the Supreme Judicial Council almost tripled and is now close to EU 4 million. In April 2006 the Supreme Judicial Council decided to increase by ten the number of judges at the Supreme Court of Cassation and by eight the number of prosecutors at the Supreme Administrative Prosecution Office. Amendments to the Law on the Judiciary, which were adopted in April 2006, foresee the application of the principle of competition for the recruitment of magistrates. The responsibilities of the Investigation Service decreased. Around 700 investigators of this service are being redeployed as prosecutors.
The newly adopted amendments to the Law on the Judiciary introduce in the legislation the random allocation of cases in courts, prosecution offices and investigation services. The new judiciary IT system for random allocation of cases has been tested in January 2006 and the software to operate the system is available in 90% of the courts.
The budget of the National Institute for Justice increased with nearly 80% in 2006 to over EUR 1.15 million, allowing it to further focus on building up sufficient capacity for specialised training, including for clerks. In 2005, the number of persons trained increased by around 50 % to just over 2000. In February 2006, the newly elected prosecutor general withdrew the request of the Constitutional Court to check the legality of the Law on Forfeiture of Criminal Assets to the Exchequer, so that the latter could enter into force.
Amendments to the Constitution were adopted in March 2006. They establish the Prosecution Service as being responsible for leading investigations and provide for a reference in the Constitution to the Ombudsman. In March 2006 the new Administrative Procedural Code was adopted. It foresees the establishment of 29 new administrative courts.
However, certain outstanding issues remain to be addressed.
The newly adopted constitutional amendments allow the Minister of Justice to play a role in the establishment of the budget, the training of magistrates, the promotion and dismissal and other human resource decisions, the management of the court infrastructure and the judicial processing of cases. While the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) continues to have a final say on all these important issues, its role is weakened by the fact that it is not a permanent body. Its members are full time magistrates, often heading courts, prosecution or investigation offices entailing a considerable amount of responsibilities. In view of this and of the fact that the Supreme Judicial Council has only 65 staff members, it will remain a considerable challenge for it to act in practice as a counterbalance to the Minister of Justice and to contribute substantially to the policy formulation in the further reform of the justice system. Against this background, the constitutional amendments leave some ambiguities regarding the guarantees of the independence of the judiciary. Any ambiguity must be removed.
The pre-trial phase continued to be a serious bottleneck for organised and economic crime as well as for corruption cases to find a final settlement within a reasonable delay due to the formalistic character of the Penal Procedure Code which was in force until the end of April. The impact of the new Penal Procedure Code will need to be carefully monitored. The accountability, transparency and internal management of the prosecution service needs to be further addressed. The announced audit will be a useful first step in the reform of the prosecution service.
The adoption of a new Civil Procedural Code has not taken place yet. Implementation of legislation adopted in 2005 goes in some cases slowly as delays occur between the entry into force of the primary legislation and its implementation.
The random allocation of cases and the installation of the relevant IT system need to become effective nation-wide. As regards the functioning of the court system, no final decisions were taken on the establishment of specialised courts or on the reduction of the number of courts. The new provisions on competitive recruitment procedures for magistrates now need to be implemented. A uniform mechanism with well defined criteria for assessing the quality of the work of magistrates is not in place yet. The Supreme Judicial Council has no specialised department responsible for this task. Corruption within the judiciary remains a serious challenge.
Overall, limited progress has been made both in terms of quality and accountability of justice as well as regarding the institutional relations between the executive and the justice system. Bulgaria needs to complete the reform of the judiciary, ensure tangible results, and take the additional steps to guarantee its independence.

Anti-corruption measures

Since the October 2005 report, there has been progress in the following areas.
In December 2005, the Council of Ministers adopted a Code of Ethics regulating the work of the members of government and other politically appointed officials of the executive. According to this code, the officials concerned must declare and register their financial interests, they are prohibited from participating as partners in companies and are not allowed to work as freelancers, they are accountable for the management of the resources entrusted to them and they must take the necessary measures to prevent corrupt practices in the bodies for which they are responsible.
In December 2005 a report was published on the results of the implementation of the Anti-Corruption Action Plan for 2004-2005. The report lists actions that have been taken to prevent corruption in the state administration. In January 2006, following consultation with NGOs, the Anti-Corruption Strategy covering the period 2006-2008 and an accompanying Action Plan were adopted. The strategy and action plan provide a comprehensive framework for combating corruption and focuses extensively on fighting high level corruption. Following amendments in April 2006 to the Law on publicity of the property owned by persons occupying high state positions, the National Audit Office will be obliged to publish annually a list of people who did not comply with the obligation to declare their property. The fines for non-compliance were increased.
In January 2006, a Council to improve coordination between the anti-corruption committees of the National Assembly, the Council of Ministers and the Supreme Judicial Council was established. The Ministry of Health has taken additional measures to monitor and control health care institutions with regard to the risk of petty corruption. An ethics committee was established in the Parliament.
In March 2006 constitutional amendments were adopted making members of Parliament liable for all types of crimes and allowing for lifting the immunity if a Member of Parliament gives his consent in writing for the court case to be initiated. The Prosecutor General retains his monopoly to request the lifting of immunity of Member of Parliaments. Since February 2006 ten requests for lifting the immunity of Members of Parliament were tabled. Five Members of Parliament have voluntarily abstained from their immunity and the immunity of a sixth one was lifted by vote of the Parliament, thus allowing the court to formally pursue allegations of corruption. In March 2006 one, and in April 2006 eight other requests to lift the immunity were tabled by the Prosecutor General. Five of the individuals concerned have in the meantime given their written consent for lifting their immunity.
At the end of March 2006 a specialised department was established at the General Prosecutor's Office with as main task to lead and supervise the pre-trial procedure in cases related to organised crime and corruption.
35 indictments were filed between 1999 and end 2005 against high-level politicians. Since October 2005, convictions subject to further appeals have occurred against former members of government, five magistrates and a bailiff. In the same period, three final convictions can be reported as regards medium level corruption, involving civil servants.
However, certain outstanding issues remain to be addressed.
Overall the administrative capacity and, more specifically, the coordination capacity of the Commission on Preventing and Counteracting Corruption, now headed by the Minister of Interior and placed in the Council of Ministers, needs to be further enhanced. So far, the track record of measures put in place to fight against high level corruption remains poor and the implementation of the new strategy and action plan needs therefore to be monitored closely. The implementation of the Law for Publicity of the Property of Persons Occupying High State Positions requires the National Audit Office to enhance its capacity to verify asset declarations. The recent amendments to the law require prior permission for publication of asset and income declarations in the media. The Law on Political Parties does not cover donations in kind. Donations from political foundations to parties are not subject to scrutiny by the national audit office. Political parties are not obliged to make public their donors. Indictments, prosecutions, trials, convictions and dissuasive sentences for high-level corruption remain rare. Petty corruption is still a concern in sectors such as health and education. The Commission for the Prevention and Counteracting of Corruption needs to increase its capacity if it is to perform its role effectively.
Overall, certain progress has been made in fighting corruption. Bulgaria needs to present clear evidence of results in its fight against corruption, in particular high-level corruption.

Trafficking in human beings

Since the October 2005 report, there has been progress in the following areas.
The National Anti-Trafficking Commission has recently been installed and has published its policy. The law on Bulgarian identification documents was amended in order to prevent children travelling abroad unaccompanied for criminal purposes and to prevent trafficking of children. Increased cooperation with Member States to fight trafficking of human beings has led to the dismantling of networks trafficking in women. Cooperation agreements were signed with several Member States. Bulgaria has started its witness protection programme. Four persons were granted such protection.
However, certain outstanding issues remain to be addressed.
Bulgaria remains a country of transit and to a lesser extent a country of origin for the trafficking of human beings. An increasing problem is the trafficking of new born babies involving pregnant women giving birth abroad. Absence of reliable registration mechanisms leads to lack of clear information on trafficked persons and the number of missing people. The implementation of the Law on Bulgarian identification documents remains incomplete. The implementation of the witness protection programme has been limited.
Overall, limited progress has been made with regard to trafficking in human beings.

Ill-treatment in custody and prison conditions

Since the October 2005 report, there has been progress in the following areas.
In some localities the number of incidents of ill-treatment by law enforcement officials has been successfully reduced. There has been some improvement in living conditions of prisoners in certain detention centres. There are probation councils in each probation service and training continued.
However, certain outstanding issues remain to be addressed.
There continue to be cases of ill-treatment of detainees by law enforcement staff, including excessive use of force and firearms. Torture under the meaning of the UN Convention against Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment is not evenly defined. There are still cases where the appropriate post-mortem and inquest procedures have not been fully respected. The rules and procedures for the functioning of the probation councils are not developed yet.
Overall, some progress was made in addressing ill-treatment in custody and with regard to prison conditions.

Child protection

Since the October 2005 report, there has been progress in the following areas.
Early 2006, Bulgaria ratified the Hague Convention for the protection of children. Amendments to the Law of Child Family Allowances and The National Child Protection Programme 2006 have been adopted. It aims at providing alternatives to institutionalised children, improving conditions in child care institutions. The programme addresses the issues of street children, and child abuse and exploitation and it ensures equal access to education and establishing a national information system for child protection. Amendments to the law on child protection have been adopted in April 2006, which introduce a legal basis for professional foster care in Bulgaria and aims at enhancing de-institutionalisation as well as the provision of alternative social services. In addition, it establishes legal basis for enhancing control and sanction mechanisms.
Furthermore, the government adopted in April 2006 a concept for de-institutionalisation of specialised institutions for children and social institutions for elderly with disabilities. The concept defines the objectives of the process of deinstitutionalisation and basic guidelines for its implementation. Living conditions in institutions for children have improved in some cases and apart from the institutions under the responsibility of the Ministry of Health there is a slight decrease in the numbers of people in institutions in 2005. The development of alternative care continues to be mainly organised by NGOs. Two institutions have been closed and the restructuring of some is on-going. International adoption has decreased from 217 in 2004 to 101 in 2005. The number of national adoptions has increased. A register of missing persons is in place in line with the Schengen Agreement.
However, certain outstanding issues remain to be addressed.
In many institutions, living and sanitary conditions are of a very low level. The Agencies for Child Protection and for Social Assistance still have no reliable monitoring and supervision system which verifies the implementation of their recommendations. The number of children in institutions remains high. A central database for national adoptions has not been established. There remains a lack of transparency of procedures, particularly regarding international adoptions.
Limited progress was made in the area of child protection. The creation of alternative childcare systems is a priority. The monitoring capacity of the responsible agencies needs to be improved.

The disabled and mental health care system

Since the October 2005 report, there has been progress in the following areas.
In December 2005, the government adopted an action plan on equal opportunities for people with disabilities for 2006-2007. It envisages improving the quality of life and combating the social exclusion of disabled people. A plan for improving the situation of elderly people with mental disabilities in institutions for 2006 to 2008 was approved. These plans are in line with the overall policy framework of the government. In February 2006, the Law on Integration of People with Disabilities was amended, aiming at entitling people with disabilities to a monthly allowance for social integration. The number of people with disabilities benefiting from monthly supplements for social integration increased significantly between August 2005 (180 000 persons) and December 2005 (430 000 persons). In addition, the National Programme ‘Assistants for People with Disabilities’ was amended aiming to provide social assistants to people who have recently been integrated into families.
A framework agreement between the Ministries of Health and the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy has been signed with the aim of coordinating mental health issues.
However, certain outstanding issues remain to be addressed.
Appropriate medical and legal procedures need to be applied systematically in cases of institutionalisation. Community services continue to be underdeveloped. The school integration of children with disabilities is lagging behind. Many institutions for people with mental handicaps are overcrowded, provide poor living conditions and lack adequate services.
The system of reintegrating people with disabilities is not yet effective. De-institutionalisation and the combat against prejudices needs to be pursued more vigorously . Community-based care structures for the mentally disabled are being developed slowly. The system of reintegrating people with disabilities or mental disorders is not yet effective. Implementation of the legislation on mental health care needs to be monitored and encouraged.
Overall, some progress was made in this area. However, there is still a need to improve living conditions in institutions and the situation of people with special needs and mental illness. There is a need to increase efforts to support the development of alternative services and to improve monitoring.

Protection and integration of minorities

Since the October 2005 report, there has been progress in the following areas.
The National Action Plan for the Decade of Roma Inclusion 2005-2015 has been drawn up. Since the establishment of the Commission for Protection against Discrimination in November 2005, the majority of an increasing amount of cases the Commission handled were about ethnic discrimination. The profession of ‘assistant teacher’ was accredited by the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy in January 2006. In March 2006 the government adopted a National Programme for Improvement of the Living Conditions of Roma for the period 2005-2015. The allocated budget for the ten years period is around million 630 Euro, out of which 40% are coming from the national budget. Initiatives aimed at attracting and keeping young Roma children in school continue to be largely successful. National employment programmes aimed inter alia at addressing in particular long-term unemployed and unskilled people have continued and mostly involved Roma.
Amendments to the regulation on the structure and activity of the National Council for Cooperation on Ethnic and Demographic Issues have enabled a small increase in the administrative capacity of the State structures dealing with minority issues. The vast majority of the Regional Councils for 'Ethnic and Demographic Issues' have been established. There are a number of cases in which NGOs are successfully addressing the issue of de facto segregated schools in Bulgaria.
However, certain outstanding issues remain to be addressed.
Additional measures are needed to enhance implementation of the Action Plan for the Decade of Roma Inclusion 2005-2015. The Commission for Protection against Discrimination is still not adequately resourced and not fully operational. It needs to develop a strategic approach to litigation and to become more pro-.active in terms of prevention, training and awareness-raising activities (see also chapter 13: Social Policy and Employment).
The job profiles and the budgets for the assistant teachers are not defined yet. Measures to integrate Roma children in schools do not concern pupils in higher grades. These measures often remain limited due to limited funding. Many Roma still do not have adequate access to healthcare services. Incentives for the social inclusion of the Roma remain limited. Efforts to include vulnerable groups, in particular Roma, in the labour market, need to be enhanced by fostering access to vocational training measures. Ill-treatment of persons in custody still appears to disproportionately affect Roma
The administrative capacity of the National Council for Cooperation on Ethnic and Demographic Issues remains incomplete. Regional Councils for Ethnic and Demographic Issues lack human resources and adequate infrastructure especially to enhance their communication with the central and local substructures.
Overall, some progress was made in the area of the protection and integration of the Roma minority. However, substantial efforts are still needed to promote the social inclusion and integration of Roma into the Bulgarian society. Living conditions need to be improved. Further efforts are needed to combat all forms of intolerance, particularly by fully applying existing legislation on broadcasting and other activities aiming to combat any form of racism, discrimination or xenophobia.

General evaluation

Bulgaria fulfils the political criteria for EU membership.
Since the October 2005 report, there has been progress in a number of areas, including the reform of the judiciary. As regards the justice system, the new penal procedure code and a legal framework for legal aid entered into force. Constitutional amendments have entrusted the prosecution service with the responsibility for leading investigations. Amendments to the Law on the Judiciary have been adopted.
Bulgaria has taken a number of measures to fight corruption. A code of ethics was adopted for the executive branch. An anti-corruption strategy for 2006-2008 was adopted. Constitutional amendments have reduced the scope of immunity of Members of Parliament. The prosecutor general presented requests for lifting the immunity of ten Members of Parliament. Five voluntarily abstained from their immunity and the immunity was lifted for a sixth one by a vote in Parliament; the other cases are still being examined. This allowed investigations into high-level corruption cases to be launched.
Bulgaria has made progress in the field of public administration, in particular with the adoption of amendments to the laws on administration and on civil servants, and a new Code of Administrative Procedure. As regards ill-treatment in custody, there has been some reduction of incidents, while conditions have improved in certain detention centres. Policy initiatives were taken for the disabled and for the mental health care system. Social support for the disabled has been increased.
However, certain outstanding issues remain to be addressed. The accountability, transparency and efficiency of the justice system need further strengthening. Further efforts are needed to consolidate implementation of the random allocation of cases throughout the country. More objective and transparent mechanisms are needed for assessing the quality of magistrates' work. Any ambiguities regarding the independence of the judiciary need to be removed. There were bottlenecks in the pre-trial process due to procedural rules and insufficient investigators. There have been few tangible results in combating organised crime.
The structures to coordinate and implement the anti-corruption policy need strengthening in order to perform their roles effectively. Indictments, prosecutions, trials, convictions and dissuasive sentences remain rare in the fight against high-level corruption. Bulgaria needs to present clear evidence of results in this area.
The strategy to decentralise the administration has not been adopted yet. Bulgaria remains a country of transit and to a lesser extent a country of origin and destination for trafficking in human beings. There continue to be cases of ill-treatment of detainees. Living conditions in many child welfare and mental health care institutions need to be improved by implementing policy initiatives, and alternative care systems created. Social inclusion of the Roma minority still requires substantial efforts. Further efforts are needed to combat all forms of intolerance, particularly by fully applying existing legislation on broadcasting and other activities aiming to combat any form of racism, discrimination or xenophobia.