mr president i am very surprised by this debate which was not even raised in the competent committee the committee on civil liberties justice and home affairs before it came here
the measure which is being attacked in this debate is a legitimate legal instrument which can be used in the fight against crime
if anything it is proof that bulgaria is serious in taking up the great challenge of fighting corruption and organised crime which is something we have long asked it to do
the measures foreseen in the law can be exercised in a legitimate manner and we expect them to be exercised in a legitimate manner
the law foresees that phone tapping can only be requested by public prosecutors or by law enforcement agencies such as the police and the national security agency if they suspect that the person in question is involved in criminal activity and after there is authorisation by a judge
the law on the use of special intelligence lays down a purpose limitation stipulating that these measures can only be used for the purpose of fighting organised crime or for protecting national security
the information collected must be kept confidential and must only be used for the purposes outlined in the law
there is also established parliamentary scrutiny of this legal system
so it is clear that there are safeguards especially safeguards on the privacy of citizens and respect of data protection and there is no question as i see it of it being in breach of the law
therefore attacking this instrument at this point would be tantamount to an irresponsible attack against the effort of a member state to try to fight organised crime and corruption
this attack damages bulgaria greatly as this fight is of utmost importance for this country in the light of its cooperation and verification mechanism and also of its prospective entry into the schengen area
the only plausible explanation for this debate therefore seems to be that it is politically motivated
