Bulgaria

The European Commission should publish this Wednesday 23 July several reports accusing Bulgaria, and to a lesser extent Romania, for the inefficiency of their fight against corruption and for the poor administration of European funds in both countries. These official reports could lead to the freezing of a certain number of European funds provided to Bulgaria, particularly in the framework of the programmes PHARE, ISPA and SAPARD – unless the Bulgarian government manages to convince the Commission that it has implemented strict measures aiming at reversing the trend. However, the parties of the opposition have begun an offensive procedure against the running government, and the vote should take place the 24th, the day after the offical publication of the reports. Should the government fall, a difficult period for the relations between Bulgaria and the reste of the Union could begin.

The week saw the Commission calling for more action against organised crime in Bulgaria. The spark was the murder of two high-profile Bulgarian figures within 24 hours, one of which was a former bodyguard who was writing on… organised crime. Contrary to what the Commission hoped for when Bulgaria joined the EU in 2007 the situation has not improved. Despite consistent EU-criticisms, statements and reports, corruption crime is having a field day while court cases are delayed endlessly and investigation is stalled. It is tempting to say “I told you so”.