Tag: Autocracy in the EU

Under the Bright Lights: Bulgaria’s Mafia State and the Failure of the CVM

.Reading time less than 1 minute.

The dismissal of a General Prosecutor, prosecutorial wars, a war between a General Prosecutor (Ivan Geshev) and a former Prime Minister (Boyko Borissov), brutal murders…

This is not a thriller – this is Bulgaria! Moreover, this is Bulgaria under the guidance of the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism (CVM), which was supposed to help it catch up with other Member States in the area of the rule of law.

Happy to share my latest post for the Verfassungsblog in which I discuss the latest troubling developments and the European Commission’s flagrant omissions in the CVM. You can read “Bulgaria’s Mafia State and the Failure of the CVM” here.

COVID-19 in Autocratic Bulgaria

.Reading time 1 minute.

At the end of 2020, I was invited to write a country report on Bulgaria about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on democracy in the past year. The report is part of a project facilitated by Democracy Reporting International, Horizon-2020 RECONNECT, and the Verfassungsblog which focuses on more than 70 jurisdictions.

My conclusions are rather grim. I argue that “the elections on 4 April 2021 are of pivotal importance for Bulgaria’s rule of law” since “Borissov has built a framework for abusing the COVID-19 challenges for political benefits”. I also make that case that “if he remains in power, he will surely take advantage of [the framework he has built]”.

Read More

An Autocratic Christmas, An Autocratic Winter

.Reading time 3 minutes.

Despite more than 160 days of protests, Boyko Borissov’s government stubbornly refuses to resign. Moreover, it has engaged in yet another assault against the rule of law. In my latest piece for the Verfassungsblog, I showcase how Borissov’s government is trying to mislead the European Commission that it has taken its concerns in Bulgaria’s report under the new Rule of Law Mechanism seriously. In essence, Bulgaria’s government has put forward an action plan consisting of various steps – many of them are irrelevant to the Commission’s concerns, even a greater number are anti-constitutional. You can read my piece titled “Borissov’s Latest Plan to Avoid True Reforms: On Bad Habits, the CVM, and the New Rule of Law Mechanism” here.

Read More

A Grand National Assembly or Grand Bulgarian Chicanery?

.Reading time less than 1 minute.

Earlier this month I was invited to comment on Boyko Borissov’s latest ideas for constitutional reform by the Verfassungsblog. Those following the decline of Bulgaria’s rule of law and those who have respect for constitutionalism will not be surprised by my conclusions. Borissov is abusing the Bulgarian legal concept of a grand national assembly to prevent fairer elections. GERB’s proposal for a new constitution lacks merit. It is largely based on the current Constitution. The few amendments it introduces are of questionable value: they are ill-drafted or designed to deliver a blow to parliamentarism. You can read my full contribution entitled “A Grand National Assembly or Grand National Chicanery?” here.