SOFIA, Oct. 17 (Xinhua) -- Bulgarian President Rumen Radev here on Tuesday called for the adoption of urgent, decisive, comprehensive and effective measures against corruption.
Corruption damages the image of Bulgaria, taints the moral, discourages people, repels investors and undermines the future of the country, Radev said after a meeting of the country's Consultative Council on National Security (CCNS).
"Therefore, the fight against corruption requires urgent, decisive, comprehensive and effective measures," said Radev, who is the head of the CCNS.
CCNS members agreed that the results of the fight against high-level corruption were low due to imperfections in the legislation and in the institutional framework, and because of the lack of a separate institution with clear powers and capacity to effectively fight corruption, Radev said.
Agreement has also been reached that the state institutions responsible for countering corruption should implement a comprehensive approach that, along with prevention, should also focus on the detection, investigation and prosecution of corruption, said the president.
The regulatory framework covering all aspects of the prevention, counteraction and fight against corruption should be improved and to cover corruption not only in the public but also in the private sector, Radev said, adding that authorities responsible for preventing and counteracting corruption should be independent.
In January, the European Commission in its Cooperation and Verification Mechanism report said "the overall institutional set-up to fight corruption in Bulgaria remains fragmented and therefore largely ineffective."
