In a meeting emblematic of Bulgaria’s intensified drive to confront its longstanding corruption issues, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Justice Krum Georgiev met with European Chief Prosecutor Laura Codruța Kövesi in Brussels on June 11, 2025. During their exchange, Georgiev delivered an in-depth briefing on the Bulgarian government’s anti-corruption reforms, signaling a deliberate alignment with European Union standards of governance and transparency.
The meeting comes at a crucial time for Bulgaria, a country frequently cited in EU assessments and Transparency International reports for persistent corruption and fragile judicial independence. Against this backdrop, Georgiev’s direct engagement with Kövesi underscored both progress made and the challenges still to be tackled.
“We are building the institutional and legal capacity not only to prosecute corruption effectively but to prevent it before it takes root,” Georgiev told Kövesi, emphasizing Bulgaria’s commitment to systemic change rather than piecemeal fixes.
A Long-Running Struggle Against Systemic Corruption
Corruption in Bulgaria has been a recurring theme in European political discourse for over a decade. Accusations of influence peddling, opaque public procurement, and judicial meddling have plagued successive governments. EU institutions, including the European Commission and the European Parliament, have routinely criticized Sofia for failing to bring powerful figures to justice or to implement sufficient safeguards for judicial independence.
This political reality was not lost on Georgiev as he addressed the concerns of the European Chief Prosecutor. In his remarks, he contextualized Bulgaria’s current reform efforts within a broader historical and institutional challenge.
“We are turning a corner in our fight against entrenched interests that have captured parts of our state,”
he said, acknowledging public frustration with slow progress in prior years.
The briefing to Kövesi was designed to be more than symbolic. It served as an update on tangible developments, including specific legal amendments and operational outcomes resulting from the government’s latest anti-corruption push.
Legislative Reforms: From Paper to Practice
One of the key points in Georgiev’s presentation was a series of newly adopted legislative reforms that aim to create a more coherent and forceful legal framework to counter corruption. Among the most significant are amendments to Bulgaria’s criminal and procedural codes that allow for broader asset confiscation, impose harsher penalties for public office abuse, and protect whistleblowers more robustly.
“With these laws in place, we’ve closed key loopholes that allowed impunity to flourish,”
Georgiev asserted during the briefing. He described these changes not as cosmetic, but as a structural rebalancing of Bulgaria’s legal architecture to make corruption investigations more feasible and effective.
The Minister also pointed to enhanced rules around transparency in public procurement and political financing. These, he said, were directly aimed at weakening the grip of cronyism and conflicts of interest that have historically distorted both local and national policymaking.
Strengthening Institutions: Judicial Independence at the Core
Beyond legislation, the heart of Georgiev’s reforms lies in strengthening institutions that have long been seen as vulnerable to political pressure. In particular, he highlighted efforts to reinforce the independence of prosecutors and investigative agencies. Increased budget allocations, new training protocols, and a merit-based appointment system are among the changes aimed at insulating key judicial actors from external influence.
“An independent judiciary is not optional in the fight against corruption. It is the precondition for everything else,”
Georgiev told Kövesi, making clear that political will alone is insufficient without structural protections.
To support this, the Bulgarian government has created new liaison frameworks with the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO), facilitating quicker cross-border cooperation and case escalation. Several prosecutors have already been seconded to EPPO-supported training initiatives, a move Georgiev called “a strategic investment in long-term judicial capacity.”
Progress in Enforcement: More Cases, Better Results
Concrete results were a critical component of Georgiev’s presentation. He outlined recent enforcement outcomes that include a significant increase in high-level corruption indictments and a series of asset recovery operations totalling millions of euros in reclaimed public funds. According to the Justice Ministry’s data, conviction rates in corruption-related prosecutions have improved steadily over the past 18 months.
Furthermore, Bulgaria has implemented upgraded case management systems designed to minimize trial delays and ensure evidence integrity. These digital reforms, according to Georgiev, “are already making our courts faster, more transparent, and less vulnerable to procedural manipulation.”
Nevertheless, he was candid about the work ahead.
“We still face pockets of resistance within the system. But the momentum is shifting,”
he said, adding that public trust remains fragile but is gradually being restored.
Kövesi: Reform Progress Is Clear, But Must Be Sustained
In response, European Chief Prosecutor Laura Codruța Kövesi welcomed Bulgaria’s transparency and the detail of the progress report. A renowned anti-corruption fighter herself, Kövesi has often emphasized that long-term reform requires unwavering political will and sustained institutional accountability.
“The reforms presented today are a step in the right direction. But fighting corruption is a marathon, not a sprint,”
Kövesi stated, urging continued vigilance and follow-through. She emphasized that the EPPO remains committed to supporting Bulgarian authorities through technical support, data-sharing, and joint investigative operations.
Kövesi also encouraged Bulgaria to broaden its enforcement strategy to include complex financial crimes, especially those involving cross-border money laundering schemes and EU funds misuse.
“These cases are often sophisticated, and they require sophisticated responses,”
she remarked during the closed-door session.
Contextualizing the Briefing in the EU’s Broader Rule of Law Mission
The Brussels meeting between Georgiev and Kövesi was more than a bilateral check-in. It formed part of the European Union’s wider campaign to safeguard the rule of law across the bloc. Over the past few years, the EU has taken stronger measures to monitor and assess member states’ judicial and anti-corruption performance through mechanisms such as the Rule of Law Report and the Conditionality Regulation.
These frameworks are tied to access to EU funds and overall credibility within the Union. Member states that backslide on judicial independence or fail to act on corruption risk financial penalties or reputational damage.
In this sense, Georgiev’s proactive briefing was not just about Bulgaria’s internal reforms—it was also about reaffirming its place within a European project grounded in democratic norms and accountability.
Persistent Obstacles and Future Imperatives
Despite the progress highlighted, both Bulgarian and EU officials are clear-eyed about the hurdles that remain. Political interference, while reduced, is not fully eradicated. Judicial backlog continues to strain prosecutorial resources. And public trust, eroded by years of perceived impunity, remains brittle.
Georgiev addressed these issues head-on, saying,
“We are under no illusions. The road ahead is long, but we are committed to walking it—step by step, with our European partners.”
To that end, he called on the EU to continue providing not just financial support, but also peer exchanges, technical expertise, and civil society engagement programs aimed at strengthening democratic culture.
Symbolism and Significance of the Brussels Meeting
The optics and timing of the Georgiev-Kövesi meeting were not incidental. Coming just months after the European Commission’s latest Rule of Law report, and ahead of EPPO’s next operational strategy review, it functioned as both a diplomatic gesture and a compliance signal.
By engaging directly and publicly with one of Europe’s most prominent anti-corruption authorities, the Bulgarian government positioned itself as both receptive to scrutiny and eager for partnership.
For Kövesi, whose office has often clashed with member states over lack of cooperation or foot-dragging on corruption cases, the meeting marked a rare example of constructive engagement.
From Pledge to Practice
The anti-corruption briefing delivered by Krum Georgiev to European Prosecutor General Laura Kövesi reflects a critical moment in Bulgaria’s reform journey. Legislative changes, institutional empowerment, and early enforcement successes paint a picture of a country taking serious steps to shed its legacy of entrenched corruption.
Still, the path forward will depend on sustained political will, continued European oversight, and—most importantly—the rebuilding of public confidence in the rule of law. Bulgaria’s next steps, both domestically and in collaboration with EU bodies like the EPPO, will determine whether this turning point becomes a lasting transformation.
“This is not just about Bulgaria,”
Georgiev concluded.
“It’s about showing that every EU citizen—regardless of which country they live in—has the right to justice, transparency, and accountability.”
