The Shengen Action Plan

CONFERENCE ON ACCESSION
TO THE EUROPEAN UNION
– BULGARIA – / Brussels, 30 June 2003
CONF-BG 16/03

Document provided by Bulgaria

Subject: / Additional information
Chapter 24 – Cooperation in the Fields of Justice and Home Affairs

Republic of Bulgaria

Supplement to the Additional Information

CONF-BG 55/02 + ADD 1-35 and CONF-BG 03/03 + ADD 1-4

On Chapter 24

“Co-operation in the Fields of Justice and Home Affairs”

June, 2003

20036/03 CONF-BG 16/03 4

Table of Contents 3

Schengen Action Plan (SAP) 6

First set of additional questions – 16th April 2003 6

General remarks 6

To be taken into account in a next revision 7

Specific remarks and questions 7

Various issues 9

Second set of additional questions – 4th June 2003 12

Reform of the Judiciary 14

First set of additional questions /Part I./ - 25th April 2003 14

General 14

Specific and related to the last questions of the EUCP 14

First set of additional questions /Part II./ - 30th April 2003 19

Second set of additional questions – 23rd June 2003 32

Data Protection 36

First set of additional questions – 18th February 2003 36

Second set of additional questions – 30th April 2003 38

Visa Policy 41

First set of additional questions – 12th March 2003 41

Second set of additional questions – 15th May 2003 42

External Borders 43

First set of additional questions– 19th February 2003 43

Migration 45

First set of additional questions – 18th February 2003 45

Second set of additional questions – 30th April 2003 47

Asylum 48

First set of additional questions – 12th March 2003 48

Second set of additional questions – 15th May 2003 52

Police Co-operation 54

First set of additional questions – 11th April 2003 54

Fight against Terrorism 59

First set of additional questions – 18th February 2003 59

Fight against Fraud and Corruption 61

First set of additional questions – 16th April 2003 61

Co-operation with OLAF (Article 7) 61

Money laundering 62

BFI Agency 63

Reports on suspicious transactions 64

Co-operation of BFI Agency with other law enforcement bodies 65

Anti-Corruption Strategy and Action Plan 66

Second set of additional questions – 24th April 2003 71

Third set of additional questions – 9th May 2003 74

Fourth set of additional questions – 10th June 2003 75

Money laundering 75

Anti-Corruption Strategy 75

Fifth set of additional questions – 13th June 2003 78

Fraud & Corruption: Convention on the Protection of the Communities’ Financial Interests 78

Drugs 81

First set of additional questions – 18th February 2003 81

Second set of additional questions – 19th May 2003 83

Third set of additional questions – 11th June 2003 89

Customs Co-operation 91

First set of additional questions – 12th March 2003 91

Second set of additional questions – 16th May 2003 95

Judicial Co-operation in Civil and Criminal Matters 98

First set of additional questions – 12th March 2003 98

Second set of additional questions – 23rd May 2003 104

Annexes 106

Annexes to sector “Reform of the Judiciary” 107

Annex No 1: Declaration on the Main Guidelines for a Reform of the Bulgarian Judiciary 107

Annex No 2: Decision of the National Assembly 110

Annex No 3: Decree No 73 of 31 March 2003 112

Annex No 4: Court Officers Need Assessment Report 113

Annex No 5: Budget Comparative Table 114

Annex No 6: Structural Regulation of the Ministry of Justice 115

Annex No 7: Trainings 118

Annex to sector “Police Cooperation” 119

Annex No 1: Law on the Ministry of the Interior /extract/ 119

Annexes to sector “Fight against Fraud and Corruption” 126

Annex No 1: Measures against Money Laundering Act 126

Annex No 2: Annual Report for 2002 of the Bureau of Financial Intelligence Agency 139

Annex No 3: Report on the Implementation of the National Anti-Corruption Strategy for 2002 148

Annex No 4: Decision No 77 of 11 February 2002 of the Council of Ministers 159

Annex to sector “Judicial Cooperation in Criminal and Civil Matters” 166

Annex No 1: Trainings 166

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The Republic of Bulgaria wishes to refer to its Additional Information No. CONF-BG 55/02 of 30.10.2002 and No. CONF-BG 03/03 of 16 April 2003 on Chapter 24 “Co-operation in the Fields of Justice and Home Affairs” and presents to the attention of the Accession Conference a Supplement comprising the information that has been exchanged with the respective services of the European Commission in the form of sets of additional questions and answers, as follows:

On sector “Schengen Action Plan”:

· Two sets of additional questions.

On sector “Reform of the Judiciary”:

· Two sets of additional questions.

· Seven annexes.

On sector “Data Protection”:

· Two sets of additional questions.

On sector “Visa Policy”:

· Two sets of additional questions.

On sector “External Borders”:

· One set of additional questions.

On sector “Migration”:

· Two sets of additional questions.

On sector “Asylum”:

· Two sets of additional questions.

On sector “Police Co-operation”:

· One set of additional questions.

· One annex.

On sector “Fight against Terrorism”:

· One set of additional questions.

On sector “Fight against Fraud and Corruption”:

· Five sets of additional questions.

· Four annexes.

On sector “Drugs”:

· Three sets of additional questions.

On sector “Customs Co-operation”:

· Two sets of additional questions.

On sector “Judicial Cooperation in Criminal and Civil Matters”:

· Two sets of additional questions.

· One annex.

20036/03 CONF-BG 16/03 4

Schengen Action Plan (SAP)

First set of additional questions – 16th April 2003

General remarks

The updated Schengen Action Plan has to be officially forwarded to the Accession Conference.

The updated Schengen Action Plan 2003 was officially submitted to the Accession Conference on 10 April 2003.

The adopted National Anti-Drug Strategy 2003-2008 (adopted on 25 February 2003) has to be officially forwarded to the Accession Conference.

The National Anti-Drugs Strategy was officially submitted to the Accession Conference on 10 April 2003.

Carrier liability: in the additional information under “Migration” it is stated that amendments to the Foreign Nationals Act in order to align with article 26 of the Schengen Implementation Agreement, have been adopted on 26 September 2002. However: in the updated Schengen Action Plan and the Report on the Implementation it is stated that these amendments were adopted at a first reading by Parliament on 6 February 2003. Final adoption is awaited and foreseen on 30 June 2003 (see page 3 and 4 Schengen Action Plan). Please clarify!

As stated in the previous additional information, the draft law amending the Foreign Nationals Act was approved by the Council of Ministers on 26 September 2002. The draft was submitted to the National Assembly on 1 October 2002 and passed first reading on 6 February 2003.

On 9 April 2003 the National Assembly adopted the amendments to Foreign Nationals Amending Act.

Judicial co-operation, page 29: in the additional information under “Judicial co-operation in criminal and civil matters” it is stated that the Second Additional Protocol to the European Convention on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters will be ratified by the end of 2002. The updated SAP mentions: by the end of 2003. Please clarify!

The deadline for ratification of the Second Additional Protocol to the European Convention on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters has been changed from the end of 2002 to the end of 2003. This was necessitated due to the complex and entirely new for the Bulgarian penal procedure law, character of the regulations in the protocol whose introduction in the Penal Procedure Code would be more time consuming than originally envisaged for achieving full precision and compatibility with the general procedure rules of the Penal Procedure Code. It must be taken into account that the Second Additional Protocol creates difficulties for other states as well, which is obvious from the small number of ratifications (2 states) and is the reason why it has not come into force yet.

Judicial co-operation, page 30: in the additional information it is stated that the new Extradition Act will be adopted by the end of 2003. The updated SAP mentions 31 December 2004. Please clarify!

The extension of the deadline for adoption of a new Extradition Act was required in view of the forthcoming ratification of the European Convention on the International Validity of Criminal Judgements (Council of Europe, Hague, 1970) by the end of 2003 and the entry into force of the Framework Decision on a European Arrest Warrant on 1 January 2004, whose provisions must be reflected in the new Bulgarian legislation on extradition. In order to establish the most appropriate model for Bulgaria, it will be necessary to collect and study additional information on the legislation and practice of the EU Member States regarding the recognition and enforcement of judgements of foreign courts as well as regarding the amendments envisaged in connection with the implementation of the Framework Decision on a European Arrest Warrant.

Visa, page 14: as regards the positive list, the text is not consistent with the additional information where a firm commitment “upon accession” has been taken. Please align the SAP.