The Minister of Justice informs Laura Kövesi about the reforms in the European Prosecutor’s Office in Bulgaria
LUXEMBOURG – The Minister of Justice Georgi Georgiev informed the Chief European Prosecutor Laura Kövesi about the expected reforms related to the activities of the European Prosecutor’s Office in Bulgaria, the ministry reported. The two met during the Bulgarian minister’s visit to Luxembourg.
A draft has been prepared for changes to the Criminal Code, which will ensure the effective functioning of the European Prosecutor’s Office in Bulgaria and will address the identified practical problems in the activities of delegated prosecutors in Bulgaria related to the qualification of criminal offenses involving funds of the European Union, Minister Georgiev stated.
The bill transposes the European directive on combating fraud affecting the financial interests of the EU.
The criminal law will now also cover Union officials and will clearly define what constitutes “EU funds” to avoid, among other things, contradictory judicial practices. Among the proposals in the draft are also the establishment of qualified offenses of mismanagement and abuse of office related to EU funds and affecting the financial interests of the Union, as well as qualified customs fraud to evade due duties in the EU budget and others, Minister Georgiev further informed.
At the bilateral meeting with experts from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) in Luxembourg, the Minister of Justice presented the progress made by Bulgaria in implementing the recommendations for exiting the so-called grey list of countries with a high risk of money laundering and terrorist financing. The minister reported that the promised reform in criminal law regarding the fight against terrorism, measures against money laundering, confiscation of property acquired from criminal activities, and corruption offenses, with increased sanctions for legal entities, has been fulfilled. The legislative changes were voted on in June and July by the National Assembly and are now part of the active law. (02.08.2025)
