(Dieser Artikel ist auch in deutscher Sprache verfügbar)

A recent report made public by the Bulgarian National Audit Office about the activity of the Commission for Personal Data Protection (CPDP) in Bulgaria in the period 1 January 2003 - 31 December 2005 shows that CPDP has failed in achieving its main purpose - to protect the citizen's personal data.

Parts of the National Audit Office report have been translated by Bulgarian NGO Access to Information Programme and published on Statewatch. According to the report, the CDPD has spent approx. 1.35 million Euro for its activities, but has completed only 17 investigations at citizens' complaints. The Commission has failed in creating the mandatory registry of personal data processors and hasn't imposed any sanction so far.

Moreover, there is no policy in place, strategy or established goals for the personal data protection field. The National Audit Office has considered that CPDP did not function as a permanent working body since the main part of its staff has predominantly maintained working relations with other employers.

The report noted that no legal provisions regulates the registration procedure, and the CPDP had not adopted written rules, procedures and methodology for exercising control over the activities of the administrators. The objects of control, the types of control activities and their scope are not explicitly defined, the powers of the controllers are defined vaguely and incompletely.

The flaws of the present data protection legislation and its implementation have been highlighted by Access to Information Programme. The insufficient protection of personal data in Bulgaria was criticized in the European Commission monitoring reports in the pre-accession process, as well.

Bulgaria: The Commission for Personal Data Protection in Bulgaria has done little for the protection of personal data - 1.35 million. Euro were spent instead (01.02.2007)
http://www.statewatch.org/news/2007/feb/01bulgaria-dp.htm

Audit Report of the CDPD (only in Bulgarian, 30.01.2007)
http://www.bulnao.government.bg/pages.html?catID=18

Access to Information Programme - Bulgaria
http://www.aip-bg.org