MP Lena Borislavova European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen
The Bulgarian “We Continue the Change” (WCC) party has addressed a letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Commissioner for Justice and the Rule of Law Michael McGrath, voicing strong concerns about the process of selecting a politically neutral and independent leadership for the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).
The move comes on the day the Nomination Commission convenes to hear and evaluate candidates for the ACC’s new composition. According to WCC, the selection process is unfolding under extremely short deadlines, leaving insufficient time for nominations and proper public scrutiny. The party also points to significant procedural and substantive issues regarding the composition of the Nomination Commission itself, which plays a decisive role in the preliminary vetting of candidates.
In their letter, WCC cites two submissions recently lodged with Parliament’s Commission on Prevention and Counteraction to Corruption by WCC-DB MPs. The first claims that two Nomination Commission members, Silvia Kadreva and Venera Milova, fail to meet requirements for political neutrality. MP Lena Borislavova argued that both have clear professional and financial dependencies on the ruling majority. She noted that Milova’s career shifts occur only when GERB mayors or ministers are in power, implying that opposing GERB-backed candidates could cost her position. As for Kadreva, Borislavova said that just two months ago she was personally rewarding two of the current candidates from GERB, TISP, and BSP – a situation Borislavova described as a conflict of interest that undermines objective assessment.
The second objection concerns procedural violations in appointing Nina Sedefova to the Nomination Commission by the Supreme Bar Council, allegedly without the necessary quorum. Media reports cited by WCC link Sedefova to individuals with political affiliations, including her son’s role as a lawyer for a “DPS-New Beginning” (oligarch Delyan Peevski’s party) MP involved in the so-called slap case against investigative journalists.
Taken together, WCC argues, these issues compromise the independence of the process and make it impossible to guarantee the politically neutral election of the ACC’s leadership.