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H.E. Ambassador Richard Miles
Embassy of US, Sofia

Mr. President, Ministers, Your excellencies, respected members and participants in this Forum,

Thank you for your invitation to come and speak here today on the topic of the dynamics of corruption in Bulgaria.

The issue of how Bulgaria addresses the problem of corruption is of the utmost importance as Bulgaria seeks integration into Euro-Atlantic institutions, expands economic growth through foreign trade and investment, and provides a safe and democratic environment for its citizens. This is also why the efforts of Coalition 2000 to research and publish reports on corruption in this country are so valuable and why the American government and in particular the Agency for International Development has been pleased to give support to the Coalition for the past few years.

Recently Bulgaria has shown signs of progress in the fight against corruption. According to Transparency International, Bulgaria has moved up to 47th place in the world in 2001 from 60th place in the corruption perception index. The current government, which to a degree was elected on the basis of the corruption issue, has promulgated a national anti-corruption strategy. This strategy provides for, among other things, guaranteeing transparency in the public administration, enhancing financial and physical controls and reducing corruption in local government and the financing of political parties. Last October, the government issued a National Strategy for the Reform of the Judiciary. We applaud these initiatives and we look to the Bulgarian government to implement them vigorously. We stand ready to assist as much as possible in addressing corruption and serious crime issues in Bulgaria.

Indeed we are already doing so through the work of our resident legal advisor, through the anti-trafficking task force, which is assisted by an FBI special agent, who has been resident in Bulgaria for several months now and a whole host of what we call "rule of law programs", funded through the Agency for International Development. We still support the Southeast European Cooperative Initiative, known as SECI, which among other things is working actively with the Bulgarian Customs Service to enhance its capacity to hold contraband and to collect legitimate tariffs. Over the coming year we plan to increase greatly our support for Bulgaria's anti-corruption program, particularly the work of the National Audit Office, the Council of Ministers and the anti-corruption task force. In short, we are providing expertise and equipment on a significant scale and we will continue doing so in cooperation with the government of Bulgaria.

But all of the paper, all of the ink and money the US and the EU can expend, will amount to little without courage and cooperation on the part of honest Bulgarian political leaders, judges, prosecutors and police officials. Newspaper reports about "alleged" and "corruption" are not enough. The successful prosecution of corrupt officials, including judges, is required before the public faith in government can be restored. At the same time Bulgaria should avoid having such prosecutions to generate into politically motivated witch-hunts.

One way, I believe, to achieve the right balance is to continue the initiatives within the executive branch, which were started during the first one hundred days of this new Bulgarian administration, and to begin significant reforms in the judiciary, many of which are outlined in the Ministry of Justice's five-year Strategy plan announced in November. Some small changes could yield big results. But some fundamental changes are needed as well. Here are a few suggestions:

Swift and focused investigations and prosecution of seriously compromised privatization deals are needed. Such investigations should not, however, appear politically inspired, should be limited in number and should be resolved quickly to avoid discouraging law-abiding foreign investors.
Improvements in the Customs service should continue, not only with respect to removing dishonest officers through an active and well-trained Internal Affairs Inspectorate, but also through the reorganization of procedures to minimize opportunities for corruption. One suggestion is to set up one-stop systems for collecting tolls, fees and other tariffs at border crossings. This has currently been done in Moldova. This would speed up the collection of fees and would reduce opportunities for bribes.
The Ministries of Interior and Justice might consider establishing internal affairs offices with the independence and the power needed to investigate allegations of police or judicial misconduct and to punish offenders accordingly.
Implementation of a mechanism for the fair distribution of cases among judges is needed. The European Union has criticized the lack of transparency or even impartial randomness in the current system.
A transparent and consistent system for training and promoting magistrates should be established. Adequate training must be provided to all new and all sitting judges.
Financial disclosure laws, obliging politicians and public servants to tell the Bulgarian people what they own can be further strengthened by the creation of better enforcement mechanisms.
Last but not least, the fundamental incentive for corruption - self-enrichment - must be attacked by ensuring that ill-gotten gains and their proceeds are frozen and forfeited. This will almost certainly require the introduction of amendments to Bulgaria's civil and criminal law as well as better cooperation between the Bureau of Financial Intelligence, the prosecutors and the banks.

Implementation of reforms to combat corruption will not be easy. It has not been easy in any country, including in the United States. But Bulgaria's future as a fully integrated member of European and Euro-Atlantic institution depends on it. Just the continuation of the perception of pervasive corruption in this society is doing very real damage to Bulgaria's prospects. Together Bulgarian political leaders, financial institutions, law enforcement agencies, non-governmental organizations, such as our host here today at Coalition 2000 and the international community can break the grip of corruption and can speed Bulgaria's path to political integration and economic prosperity.

Thank you very much!

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