Political forces are in a hurry to get rid of the CPC, but are powerless to create an independent body to fight corruption. The appearance of significant sums and properties does not bother anyone in Bulgaria, nor the presence of unclear offshore accounts.
The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has been closed since July 2025, when the first bill was submitted - but its end will come six months later. In its finale, the 51st parliament will disband it almost by consensus, and one special service and one institution will distribute its previous powers. There was an ACC, there is no ACC. However, corruption is here.
Dismemberment
The political forces are in a hurry to get rid of the CPC, but they have not publicly admitted their powerlessness to create an independent body to fight corruption in Bulgaria. The GERB-SDF project approved at first reading provides for the General Directorate for Combating Organized Crime (GDBOP), the so-called “anti-mafia”, to deal with “counteracting corruption”, and the Court of Auditors - with the register of the property of people in high-ranking state positions and the conflict of interest.
By the way, until February 2018, it was the audit institution that accepted these property declarations, and then this activity was transferred to the Commission for Combating Corruption and Confiscation of Illegally Acquired Property (CPKONPI), established by law. But no matter which body accepts them, practically no consequences arise from the declarations. The appearance or disappearance of significant amounts and properties does not bother anyone, nor does the lack of declared offshore accounts.
This same KPKONPI in the fall of 2023 was divided into two by the votes of the parties united in the so-called. assembly - PP-DB, GERB and MRF. The two commissions were for the confiscation of illegally acquired property (KONPI) and for combating corruption. The parliament was supposed to elect their new members and heads, but so far this has not happened. And the newly created KPK was strengthened with investigative functions, although under the supervision of the prosecutor's office, also requesting wiretapping, tracking and other special intelligence means, and to arrest.
The intention of “We continue the change” was the MP and former Interior Minister Boyko Rashkov to head the KPK, but it did not happen. After the end of the “assembly” the KPK took action against mayors, municipal councilors and deputy mayors associated with the PP-DB.
Retreat
The Bulgarian anti-corruption body is being closed at a time when the EU is developing stricter anti-corruption standards. Only a month and a half ago - in early December, the European Parliament and the member states agreed on a new directive on corruption. The European law is expected to be officially adopted and published this year. After that, the member states of the Community will have to transpose it into their legislation within a certain period.
Among the preventive measures is “the creation of bodies whose task is to prevent and counteract corruption”. “These bodies (or units) must be able to act without undue interference and have an adequate number of qualified staff and financial resources”, the document says.
The directive will harmonise definitions and sanctions for corruption across the EU, with a special focus on prevention. Member States will also have to periodically assess the most risky sectors, establish independent anti-corruption bodies and guarantee protection and support for whistleblowers. In Bulgaria, they are trying to bury the dependent CPC instead of breaking its dependencies, which is what the European Commission (EC) is insisting on. With the bill to close it down, Sofia is actually telling Brussels that this key requirement of the Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP) - the existence of an independent anti-corruption commission - will not be met. Its establishment was included in the PVP, and due to the unfulfilled obligation and half-hearted reforms regarding the accountability and criminal liability of the Prosecutor General, the EC withheld nearly 153 million euros.
Bulgaria has six months to fulfill the key stage for both the CPC and the Prosecutor General, which means pressure for institutional change. But it is far from certain that there will be any.
The reasons
It seems that the ruling party led by GERB-SDF is afraid of sharing the fate of Varna Mayor Blago Kotsevilli and the former Deputy Mayor of Sofia Nikola Barbutov, who were accused of corruption crimes. That is why they activated the bill to close the Anti-Corruption Commission.
Other arguments that politicians put forward for the closure of the CPC are that the commission not only does not work effectively against corruption, but also carries out political orders - of the oligarch and leader of the MRF-NN, Delyan Peevski, who was sanctioned for corruption.
In reality, this is a structural problem of all regulators and institutions in Bulgaria - their political dependence. The three-member leadership of the CPC is elected by parliament with a simple majority and thus remains under the control of the ruling majority. Now it is dominated by GERB-SDF and DPS-New Beginning.
PP-DB propose that the CPC be transformed into a corruption prevention and analysis unit, removing the functions of the “bat”, that is, to become a semblance of the former BORKOR (Center for Counteracting and Preventing Corruption and Organized Crime).
Effects
According to the annual report for 2024 of the Confiscation Commission, cases for the confiscation of property worth a total of about 3.3 million leva have been won. This is about 4.3 times less than its budget for 2024, which is nearly 14.2 million leva.
And the CPC cannot even boast of such “successes”. Its expenses for 2025 are 17.799 million leva. Of these, nearly 83% are set aside for employee remuneration - for “implementing prevention, effectively countering corruption and establishing conflicts of interest”.
In surgery, resection may save a life, but in the political context, “cutting out” the CCP will not cure the disease. Corruption in Bulgaria is a structural problem, embedded in the institutions, practices and culture of governance. An independent body is needed to investigate and preemptively cut through conflicts of interest.
The political “decision” to transfer powers to other institutions is a formalism that does not guarantee real control. We continue the change (PP) after the closure of the CPC, politicians must explain how Bulgaria is fighting corruption, not opposition mayors.
This text expresses the opinion of the author and may not coincide with the positions of the Bulgarian editorial office and the State Gazette as a whole.