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United States sanctions and the Rule of law (continuation of debate)
The sanctions under the Global Magnitsky Act, imposed by the US authorities (OFAC) on several Bulgarian persons, are unprecedented in the history of our Union. They clearly show that the anti-corruption mechanisms in Bulgaria are inefficient at best. What is more troubling, they are a clear reminder that the EU mechanisms for guaranteeing the Rule of Law are not effective. Bulgaria is subject to two monitoring mechanisms by the European Commission and one by the Council of Europe. Yet, the central problem with the failure of the Prosecutor General and his office to fight political corruption persists. Judiciary reforms are stalled at the 2015 level. The overall deterioration of the institutional framework is ongoing. The persons sanctioned by the US authorities seem untouchable in Bulgaria. All 14 investigations against ex-MP Delyan Peevski have been dropped; no investigation against Zhelyazkov has ever started; none of the charges retained against Vassil Bozhkov is for corruption. Colleagues, we all know and agree, that US sanctions have no legal force in the EU whatsoever. But hundreds of thousands of Bulgarians, protesting corruption and for judicial reforms, rightfully wonder why the EU is so silent about problems clearly visible from across the ocean.