Abstract:
This text presents the results of the analysis of quantitative data obtained through the accomplishment of the interdisciplinary project "The role of policies for fight against corruption and organized crime in the relationships between Bulgaria and the EU, 2007-2012." The reports of the European Commission (EC) under the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism (CVM) have been the subject of analysis. The systematic analysis reveals the political and methodological reasons for the ineffectiveness of the anti-corruption policies in Bulgaria and Romania. At the same time, the empirical facts prove that during the studied period, the EC becomes more tangibly aware of the complementarity between the political corruption and the lack of progress in reforming the judicial system. The Commission, however, does not change its approach aiming at "comprehensive and far-reaching reform" through procedural and technological changes in the institutions which should implement anti-corruption policies. This approach dooms the MCV to failure. Only after the mechanism’s implementation crisis, being unable to achieve its own objectives for seven years already, the Commission's attention has been attracted by the crucial role of a player outside the legal and political system, namely the citizenship and the civil society.
