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Corruption in Bulgaria is a central problem within the country's government. Towards the end of the 1990s, the issue of public corruption became a central concern in Bulgaria. Since then, fighting corruption has been at the top of the government's agenda. Despite that, the country has "systematically demonstrated very high levels of perception of corruption."

Within the European Union, Bulgaria is viewed as the most corrupt. (Bulgaria joined the EU in 2007). This is according to a report by Transparency International, which was published on January 27, 2016. The conclusion of the report is based on polling of experts from around the globe on topics like free press, integrity and independent judiciaries. Among the 28 EU states, Bulgaria is at the bottom. In 2015, the European Commission found the Bulgaria had done almost nothing to stem the tide of corruption and organized crime.

A poll of Bulgarians showed that 76% of people believe that political parties are corrupt and 86% of people believe that the judiciary is corrupt.

Corruptions Perceptions Index
According to the Corruption Perceptions Index 2016, Bulgaria is ranked 75th out of 176 countries in corruption. The index gives Bulgaria a score of 41 out of 100. The lower the number, the more the perceived corruption is that country.

In the Corruptions Perceptions Index, countries that are lower ranked experience "untrustworthy and badly functioning public institutions like the police and judiciary." Often anti-corruption laws are ignored. As the index puts it: "People frequently face situations of bribery and extortion, rely on basic services that have been undermined by the misappropriation of funds, and confront official indifference when seeking redress from authorities that are on the take."

Lobbying
A 2014 study by Transparency International Bulgaria showed that lobbying is mostly unregulated and happens behind closed doors. "The report Lobbying in Bulgaria: Interests, Influence, Politics shows that there are significant deficits in the transparency, integrity and equality of access regarding influence over public decision-making in the country." The study used a framework from a project called "lifting the lid on lobbying". Within that methodology, Bulgaria received a "paltry overall score of only 25%." For transparency, Bulgaria received a score of 13%; for integrity, 25%; and free quality of access, 38%. By 2014, there had been four legislative proposals introduced in Bulgaria's Parliament, yet none of the bills have passed.

Elections fraud
Elections fraud in Bulgaria is a major problem. During the 2014 election, Transparency International Bulgaria's telephone helpline "rings off the hook." The organization received 202 complaints about the election in 2014. One of the top three complaints received during elections in Bulgaria's is vote buying.

For example, a local pub owner in the small village of Roma paid voters between $40 and $55  in US currency to vote a certain way. The owner had to be sure that the political party paying him would win in that village; if not the money would not be paid out.

Judiciary
The Bulgarian Supreme Judicial Council, which is responsible for the personnel policy within the country's judiciary, has a very high level of autonomy according to the law. However it has been involved in a number of scandals over the years, which suggests that it has been subjected to external influences on its decisions.

Government economic mismanagement
Bulgaria has a per capita GDP equivalent to $16,300 which is less than half of the average of European countries. It is the poorest country was in the European Union. By 2014, the Bulgarian government was accused of mismanaging the economy so bad that the European Union froze billions of euros in aid.

Run on banks and bank seizures
Fourteen runs on banks, Corporate Commercial Bank and First Investment Bank, in 2014 "focused new attention on the fragile economy and dysfunctional politics that are hobbling Bulgaria." The bank runs on two of them destabilized the international investment and business community's confidence in Bulgaria. The run on Corporate Commercial Bank was provoked by the prosecution and the bank ended up being seized by the raiders. First Investment Bank remained open, while Corporate Commercial Bank remain closed. International investment in Bulgaria was $9 billion in 2009, but fell to $1.4 billion in 2013. According to the New York Times, corruption and erratic government policy have hurt the business climate.