The European Commission issued a warning to Bulgaria, as anti-graft protests continue to erupt throughout the country and its prime minister resigns.
On Thursday (11 December), the commission told reporters in Brussels that Sofia has yet to resolve outstanding issues over its anti-corruption body.
Last month, the payment of approximately €215m was suspended for six months due to concerns over the lack of independence of Bulgaria's anti-corruption agency.
"Bulgaria has now one month to send their observations regarding this temporary suspension," said Maciej Berestecki, a European Commission spokesperson.
The comment comes as tens of thousands have taken to the streets in Sofia in protest over widespread corruption and the proposed annual budget for next year.
Protests had also erupted in 25 other major cities across Bulgaria, leading to the resignation on Thursday of Bulgaria's prime minister Rosen Zhelyazkov.
The Civil Liberties Union for Europe, a rights watchdog, had earlier this year said Bulgaria's anti-corruption framework is being used as a tool against political and business opponents of the de facto owners of state institutions.
In October, Varna’s opposition mayor Blagomir Kotsev was detained on corruption charges.
The person who testified against him, and later recanted, said he had been pressured to do so by Bulgaria's anti-corruption commission.
Adela Katchaounova of the Bulgaria Helsinki Institute, a Sofia-based rights group, said they suspect oligarch Delyan Peevski is pulling the strings of the commission.
Peevski, who heads the centrist-liberal Movement for Rights and Freedoms party in Bulgaria, was himself sanctioned for corruption by the United States and the United Kingdom.
His role and influence over the country's governance are among the core frustrations cited by the protests.
His critics say he ruled over the government coalition, acting as a shadow prime minister, even though he had no formal position.
The European Commission's annual reports have repeatedly faulted the country for backsliding on the rule of law.
But those reports are also typically given short shrift by national authorities.
Some 90 percent of such recommendations, spread out among all 27 member states, are just repetitions from previous reports, says the Civil Liberties Union for Europe.
Only six percent of the recommendations from this year have so far been fulfilled. And of those most were done by two member states.
As for the protests erupting in Bulgaria, the commission won't comment aside from some vague declarations on people's rights to take to the streets.
High-level corruption cases have never led to any final convictions in Bulgaria, except when Desislava Ivancheva, a former mayor of Sofia's Mladost district, was arrested in 2018 for accepting bribes.
All other cases have either been acquitted or settled out of court.
Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index 2024 ranks Bulgaria last in the EU, just below Hungary.
Bulgaria is set to become the 21st member of the eurozone in January.
Every month, hundreds of thousands of people read the journalism and opinion published by EUobserver. With your support, millions of others will as well.
If you're not already, become a supporting member today.
Nikolaj joined EUobserver in 2012 and covers home affairs. He is originally from Denmark, but spent much of his life in France and in Belgium. He was awarded the King Baudouin Foundation grant for investigative journalism in 2010.
Nikolaj joined EUobserver in 2012 and covers home affairs. He is originally from Denmark, but spent much of his life in France and in Belgium. He was awarded the King Baudouin Foundation grant for investigative journalism in 2010.