Bulgaria's Parliament has given final approval to legislation establishing a new Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), a move backed by all parliamentary groups except Delyan Peevski’s DPS. The vote comes less than four months after lawmakers dismantled the previous anti-corruption body, a decision initiated by GERB and supported at the time by DPS, BSP, and TISP.
The creation of the new commission is linked to Bulgaria’s commitments under the Recovery and Resilience Plan, with more than 250 million euros in European funding dependent on meeting the reform requirement by the end of May.
The most significant change concerns the way the commission’s leadership will be selected. Unlike the previous structure, where all members were appointed by parliament, the new model distributes the nominations among several institutions. One member will be chosen by parliament, another appointed by the president, one elected jointly by the general assemblies of the Supreme Court of Cassation and the Supreme Administrative Court, and another selected by the Supreme Bar Council.
Although the law envisions the election of the new leadership within one month, the procedures are considered complex. For that reason, the commission will be deemed operational once at least three members have been appointed.
