SOFIA, Bulgaria – Bulgaria’s president has vetoed an anti-corruption law approved by Parliament, saying it was not strong enough to effectively combat corruption.
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President Rumen Radev imposed the veto Tuesday, a day after the Balkan country took over the rotating six-month presidency of the 28-nation European Union.
Bulgaria, a country of 7.1 million, joined the EU in 2007 but remains the poorest and one of the most corrupt nations in the bloc. It has repeatedly been subject to criticism by Brussels for failing to efficiently fight corruption or organized crime and for failing to overhaul its judiciary.
Radev calls the new anti-corruption law “insufficient” and warns of possible retaliation against whistleblowers who report graft because the law does not protect them from prosecution.
