5. Civil Society against Corruption (PDF, 293 kb)

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108 ANTI-CORRUPTION REFORMS IN BULGARIA 5.1.2. Coalition 2000 Coalition 2000 is an initiative of Bulgarian non-governmental organizations which brings together the efforts of civil society and state institutions. The efforts of Coalition 2000 and its partners have shaped the overall civil society involvement in combating corruption since 1997. Although initially seen as ambitious, all of Coalition 2000’s initial goals have been achieved: • A no-go area for public discussion some years ago, anti-corruption is now of mainstream concern in the policy agenda. As a result mostly of Coalition 2000’s monitoring system, corruption was acknowledged by political elites and recognized as a problem by the general public. The Coalition has shown not only that corruption can be measured but that measurement is crucial in its successful combat. The regular publication of data on the actual prevalence of corruption in society has given the public an instrument of advocacy and pressure, and has allowed government to better tailor its policies. Coalition 2000’s monitoring system has been included as part of the UN Anti-Corruption Tool Kit and is routinely referred to by various international institutions, including the European Commission, World Bank, IMF, UNDP and others. • By informing the policy process, Coalition 2000’s quarterly indexes on the spread of corruption have made a difference in a number of areas, lately on the hidden economy. Data on the gray economy prompted the government to introduce changes to employment legislation. The Coalition’s subsequent monitoring revealed a 25% drop in the share of the hidden economy in labor relations while highlighting remaining concerns in other areas. Thus, Coalition 2000’s watchdog mechanism has served both as an early warning and as a policy effectiveness feedback instrument. • Anti-corruption is now an avowedly strategic concern for government, and policy in this area is sought to be a comprehensive mix of prevention and enforcement. Bulgaria has aligned its laws with the best international standards and is actively contributing to their further development. The adoption of the Coalition 2000 Action Plan by a broad national consensus at the 1998 Policy Forum has helped structure the entire policy and institutional anti-corruption environment in the country by outlining the key challenges and solutions in the field of government, media and civil society, business and international cooperation. In an ultimate acknowledgment of the role of Coalition 2000 in this process, the government based the better part of its 2001 Anti-Corruption Strategy on the Action Plan of the Coalition. Coalition experts made valuable contributions to the drawing of the strategy. The document highlights the need to “build mechanisms and effective partnership practices between state institutions, nongovernmental organizations and privately-owned media in areas such as democratic control over the administration’s activities, civil rights protection, independent oversight and anti-corruption awareness and
CIVIL SOCIETY AGAINST CORRUPTION 109 advocacy campaigns”. The strategy acknowledges the important role of Coalition 2000 and Transparency International-Bulgaria. • The anti-corruption experience of the Coalition has a growing international recognition. Regional anti-corruption projects such as Southeast European Legal Development Initiative (SELDI) have drawn on the public-private model of Coalition 2000 in bringing together NGOs from a number of countries in the region. 5.2. The Role of Media in Anti-Corruption The media play a very important role in shaping popular perceptions and attitudes to corruption. As shown by the Coalition 2000 Corruption Monitoring System, roughly half of the adult Bulgarian citizens get information about instances of corruption from broadcast and print media. CHART 31. AVERAGE MONTHLY NUMBER OF CORRUPTION-RELATED ITEMS IN THE MEDIA June ‘04 723 May ‘04 739 April ‘04 720 March ‘04 831 February ‘04 January ‘04 599 December ‘03 691 November ‘03 679 October ‘03 September ‘03 740 August ‘03 501 July ‘03 700 June ‘03 782 961 1 050 The regular media monitoring conducted by Coalition 2000 9 indicates that both print and electronic media devote increased attention to corruption. While with the emergence of anti-corruption initiatives in 1998 the average monthly number of corruption-related items was about 150-200, in 2002 it reached 400 pieces, and by 2004 it had risen to more than 700 on average, regardless of whether the respective period was marked by a major corruption-related news story or public scandal. May ‘03 802 April ‘03 656 March ‘03 410 February ‘03 682 January ‘03 599 December ‘02 November ‘02 October ‘02 555 583 617 September ‘02 306 August ‘02 July ‘02 443 494 June ‘02 334 0 200 400 600 800 1 000 1 200 Source: Media Monitoring by Coalition 2000 9 The monitoring covered 32 national media, of which 10 dailies, 8 weeklies, 7 internet media, all 3 national television stations, and 4 radio stations. Forty-eight weekly and 12 monthly reports have been prepared, as well as 7 topical analyses on some of the corruption-related stories that received most extensive media coverage (such as corruption in higher education, the Sofiyski Imoti affair, the selling of lowprice flats to government officials, the scandals at the National Protection Service, the grain siphoned off from the strategic grain reserve, etc.).
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5. Civil Society against Corruption (PDF, 293 kb)

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