30.3.2007

Bulgaria expects "a realistic evaluation" of its EU-required reform efforts

(SOFIA) - Bulgaria has said it hopes the European Commission will make "a realistic evaluation" of its efforts to fight organised crime and corruption, three months after joining the European Union.

The government is to submit its first report on progress made in EU-required reforms since joining the bloc to Brussels by March 31. The European Commission is expected to publish its evaluation in June.
"The principle of zero tolerance to corruption at all levels continues to be a priority for the Bulgarian government," Interior Minister Rumen Petkov told a press conference Thursday.

In the past six months, there were 1,706 inquiries into corruption at all levels, 599 charges were brought against 705 people, of which 297 have already been condemned, Petkov said. A total 141 people have also been sentenced for organised crime.
"I am categorical that significant results have been achieved, especially in curbing crime... Bulgaria has no reason to feel ashamed," Petkov added.

Over the past six months, Bulgarian courts have handed down five verdicts for money laundering and the prosecution has been investigating five cases of misappropriation of money from European funds, he said.
Bulgaria and fellow EU newcomer Romania avoided having their entry into the European Union postponed by a year and were allowed to join the 25-member bloc on January 1.

But Brussels placed the two Balkan states under the strictest ever post-accession monitoring mechanism due to lagging judiciary reforms, the inefficient fight against organised crime and corruption, low capacity to absorb European funds and insufficient food safety.
A high-ranking European diplomat in Sofia recently told AFP under condition of anonymity that the authorities "never did anything" to put well-known top criminals behind bars.
"It is a pity for Bulgarians and for all Europeans who suffer the consequences of such impunity," he added.
Bulgaria's parliament adopted amendments to the country's primary law in February aimed at improving the efficiency of its often criticised judiciary.

The changes limited the judiciary's previous total independence by subjecting the Supreme Court and the chief prosecutor to parliament oversight.
They did away with the full immunity afforded to magistrates and set up a special parliament-elected inspectorate to monitor the work of the judicial branch without infringing on its independence.

The government also approved Thursday a new law on the functioning of the judiciary that is expected to be adopted in parliament by end-May.