Justice in Bulgaria is ineffective and the media is dependent - these are some of the conclusions in the report of the Group of States against Corruption (GRECO), which is the Council of Europe anti-corruption body.

The impunity of the executive power, the lack of a law on lobbying and rules for conduct and assessment of the risk of corruption are among the problems indicated by the report. Despite the fact the commission for combating high-level corruption has many powers, it does not exercise them.

"Investigative journalists covering organised crime and corruption are frequently targeted by negative campaigns, strategic lawsuits against public participation, threats and at times physical assaults, which do not appear to be followed by adequate legal and political responses from the authorities," GRECO commented.