European Prosecutor’s Office: A Comedy of Errors!
14 October 2024 08:26
14 October 2024 08:26
The European Prosecutor’s Office should function with the cooperation of national institutions as well. When this cooperation does not happen effectively, we cannot expect huge results from it. Lora Georgieva from the Anti-Corruption Fund commented this to BNR.
The European Prosecutor’s Office started with huge expectations from the Bulgarian society, she reminded, explaining that the institution is called to defend the interests of the EU budget. According to her, she is gradually starting to work on more significant cases.
The European Prosecutor’s Office accused Ivan Portnich and three others of fraud with a non-existent port in our country
“We hope that at least things will be a little better there. Hopefully the external control will work. Any external control, any monitoring is welcome“.
In the show “Before everyone” Lora Georgieva commented and the case of last week, when it became clear that the former mayor of Varna Ivan Portnih Ivan Nikolaev Portnih is a Bulgarian politician from PP GERB, mayor of the municipality of Varna since July 15, 2013. He was born on is a defendant in a case of the European Prosecutor’s Office. In addition to him, former regional governor Stoyan Pasev, as well as two employees from the Executive Agency “Maritime Administration” have also been charged.
“As of the date when the reports were submitted – the beginning of 2021, the European Prosecutor’s Office is still not functioning. That is why we and other journalists filed a report with AFCOS, OLAF – the European services that are called to take care of the financial interests of the EU These institutions also conducted their own investigation, as did the European Prosecutor’s Office later on. We could explain the delay with these technical details,” explained Georgieva.
She did not rule out the possibility that there was a “brake” in this case:
“The European Prosecutor’s Office does not exist entirely in a vacuum, a separate environment outside the Bulgarian reality. It uses the capacity of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for investigations and should cooperate with Bulgarian institutions. If there are certain dependencies in them, if there are certain conventions in them that prevent them from doing their job effectively, some delay may be due“.
Ivan Portnih called the accusations of the European Prosecutor’s Office “false information”.
In this case, we see the cooperation of Bulgarian institutions at different levels, which jointly built a plot to deceive the EU in order to receive 8 million for financing the so-called fishing portwhich was later seen to have been planned as a port for cruise boats and yachts, Lora Georgieva specified. According to her, with the cooperation of the Ministry of Defense, the Maritime Administration, and the Municipality, a port that did not exist was created in order to submit the application documentation. All residents of Varna know that this was a sea beach, narrow and wild, she commented.
“Practically, at the end of 2016, with the assistance of the state, this port was created documentarily in order to submit documents for financing and eventually receive it. At the moment, it does not exist as a port, the residents of Varna joke that “only ducks can swim”.
It became clear who filed the report about the “Quarantine” port in Varna to the European Public Prosecutor’s Office
This scheme was created with the cooperation of the Bulgarian institutions at the highest levelLora Georgieva was categorical and added that there are 2 decisions of the Council of Ministers, which in practice make it possible to implement this virtual port, for which the EU gives money supposedly to be reconstructed.
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The Great Bulgarian Fishing Port Fiasco
Ah, the European Prosecutor’s Office! Like the Sisyphus of European law enforcement, it rolls the boulder of justice up a hill that is perpetually slippery with bureaucratic grease. As Lora Georgieva from the Anti-Corruption Fund pointed out, the whole shebang is barely functioning without a little cooperation from the local boys in blue. It’s like playing football with a team that forgot to show up! Just don’t ask them for their jerseys, they might be busy laundering them.
Now, let’s dive into that lovely little scandal involving our friend Ivan Portnich. He’s been accused of cooking up a non-existent port out of thin air. I mean, who knew you could play Monopoly with EU funds? “Ah yes, I’d like to build a hotel on Boardwalk, please! Oh, wait, that’s a cruise port—my mistake!”
Georgieva gave the public a little peek behind the curtain, and what did we find? A flimsy facade built with all the grace of a toddler stacking blocks. With the help of some suspiciously cooperative local authorities, they managed to convince the EU that a beach was, in fact, a state-of-the-art fishing port. Talk about a “sea” change in reality! Residents of Varna must be having a good giggle thinking about their “fishing port” that’s so non-existent that even ducks refuse to swim there. Who’s playing the “dismal seaside” version of Grand Theft Auto?!
External Monitoring: An Oxymoron?
Now, bless Lora’s heart, she’s got hope! Wishing for external controls to actually get the job done in Bulgaria is like hoping a cat would take a bath voluntarily—possible, but highly unlikely. But if they can get external monitoring in place, maybe just maybe, the wheels of justice can start turning instead of just spinning in circles like a drunken hamster!
The case became more tangled than a pair of earphones found in the bottom of a bag. Reports were filed, investigations were launched, yet here we are, wondering how on Earth this whole debacle unfolded. Who knew that the bureaucratic red tape would be so thick that it could wrap around a non-existent port?
Conclusion: The Future is Fishy!
In summary, dear readers, if the European Prosecutor’s Office is hoping to catch fraudsters in their nets, they might want to consider investing in a boat—preferably one that actually floats! But then again, in the magical world of “Paper Ports,” who needs reality when fantasy is just a bureaucratic decision away?