Legal restrictions on former members of the pre-1989 Bulgarian state security services holding posts in the public administration
16.5.2011
Question for written answer P-005093/2011
to the Commission
Rule 117
Kristian Vigenin (S&D)
The Bulgarian Government is planning to introduce a law explicitly excluding people who worked for the security services of the Bulgarian Republic before 1989 from certain types of civil service duties, namely senior administrative posts in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in Bulgaria’s diplomatic missions and in international organisations.
A further provision of the draft legislation empowers the Minister of Foreign Affairs to dismiss any of the Ministry’s employees without notice if it is established that they belonged to the former special services, or to place them in less senior posts.
The main argument is that such people are bad for Bulgaria’s image and it is unacceptable that they should occupy senior diplomatic posts whether representing Bulgaria abroad or at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs offices in Sofia.
These provisions, characteristic of post-communist countries’ measures to disqualify from office those associated with the prior regime, are to become law 21 years after the communist state security system ceased operations, and their obvious purpose is a political purge among diplomatic personnel. They raise a number of questions.
1. Are the holders of senior administrative posts in the European External Action Service (EAAS) required to produce documentary proof that they did not work for the secret services of former communist countries?
2. Are the countries concerned officially required to supply information as to whether persons in senior EEAS administrative posts formerly worked for the secret services?
3. Does European Union law explicitly prohibit people who worked for the former secret services from occupying senior EU administrative posts, including in the EEAS?
4. If not, does the Commission, or more specifically the head of the EEAS, intend to call for changes in the law to guarantee that the EU will not be represented by diplomats who formerly worked for the communist secret services?
OJ C 365 E, 15/12/2011