Supreme Cassation Court Chair Ivan Grigorov said on April 3 there should be a divorce between justice and home affairs so that Bulgaria would know who is to blame for the delay in reforms in the country’s most critical European Union negotiation chapter. Justice Minister Georgi Petkanov supported his statement in what seemed to be a duet between the two against Interior Minister Roumen Petkov. Some days earlier, Petkov had said that justice alone is to blame for the delay in judicial reform, something that might cause the EU to activate a safeguard clause and postpone Bulgaria’s EU admission by a year. After hearing Grigorov’s comments, Petkanov issued a statement saying that the media had misquoted him.

“I understand the reaction of Grigorov, and I have always considered messages conveyed incorrectly by the media to be of no good to anybody. All Bulgarian institutions have to act together in the fight against crime,” Petkov said.

Grigorov said that the real problem was that home affairs is the responsibility of the executive branch of the Government, while justice is in the sphere of the independent judiciary. The most recent European Commission report did not criticise justice, although it did criticise home affairs on seven counts, he said, adding that the Petkov’s words had been incorrect and offensive.

“The only slight hint about justice in the evaluation of EU experts is that we are late with the Civil Procedure Code,” Petkanov said.

If the chapter 24-related anger continues to flare up, Prosecutor-General Boris Velchev would probably side with Grigorov and Petkanov. On February 25, Velchev supported the “Petkanov” bill about the confiscation of property acquired through criminal activity in the name of the state - a position opposite to that of his predecessor, Nikola Filchev.

In February, Velchev also supported Grigorov when the prosecution tried to have his immunity removed, intending to prosecute him for corruption and “acts harming the prestige of the judiciary”, as the media statement of the prosecutor’s office put it. Grigorov had circulated an forensic opinion saying that Filchev was mentally ill.

The report that prompted the angry exchange of remarks was presented by EU enlargement commissioner Olli Rehn to a European Parliament (EP) committee on April 3. In his preliminary assessment of Bulgaria and Romania, Rehn said that Romania had seen “significant progress” in its judiciary system, while “the balance sheet of Bulgaria’s judiciary reform was not yet satisfactory”. According to the report, judiciary reform and the fight against corruption and crime remained the critical yardstick for both countries. “A recommendation to postpone accession will only be made in cases of major problems,” Rehn said.

Bulgaria ‘s observer to the EP Maria Capone said that Rehn’s presentation had hinted that both Bulgaria and Romania would join the EU on January 1 2007, but that one of the minor safeguard clauses might be activated in the case of Bulgaria. This would limit the transposition of local court rulings on EU territory for up to three years after membership, and probably lead to financial restrictions.