Bulgarian citizens have taken to the streets in large numbers during the last week to denounce corruption and the deterioration of the rule of law in the country. The protests were in particular triggered by a misuse of the judiciary system and the lack of accountability by the leading coalition. Police violence against peaceful protesters is putting the security of citizens at risk, and is further eroding democratic standards in Bulgaria.
The European Green Party strongly condemns any form of violence against peaceful protesters. We equally support Bulgarian citizens, our member party Zeleno Dvizhenie and their coalition “Democratic Bulgaria” in their efforts to put an end to corruption in the country and restore democratic standards.
“The EU must act to ensure that the justice systems in EU member states are independent of political influence. When clear breaches to the rule of law can be established, the EU should not hesitate to trigger infringement procedures. The positions of ALDE and EPP are unacceptable. They are proving once again that they prefer to put political party affiliation ahead of genuine concerns for democracy and the rule of law. Bulgarians, as citizens of the EU, have an inalienable right to lawfulness, a free press and prosperity,” commented Thomas Waitz, co-chair of the European Green Party and MEP.
“In hard times like these, Bulgaria needs a fair, open and democratic governance, following basic constitutional and European principles. Bulgarians are angry with the current model of governance, where the state is captured by oligarchy, the media freedom is the lowest ranking in the modern history of the country, the General Prosecutor is a political defender of the government and the corruption level is the highest in the EU,” commented Borislav Sandov, co-chair of Zeleno Dvizhenie.
“Bulgarians deserve a reformist leadership that will unite the nation, guarantee independence of the justice system and implement the EU green recovery plan,” he added.
