Michael Humphreys: Bulgaria Doing Well in the EU

Politics » BULGARIA IN EU | March 16, 2007, Friday // 00:00

The first two months of Bulgaria's EU membership can be considered a success, Michael Humphreys, Head of the European Commission Representation in Bulgaria, said during a visit to the southwestern town of Sandanski.

Bulgaria is taking her role seriously and is moving in the right direction from an institutional point of view, he said at a meeting with local businessmen.

Humphries emphasized the high approval ratings within the country regarding Bulgaria's entry to the European Union, which remained unchanged even two months into the country's membership in the bloc.

The country's cabinet is due to make a report on the cooperation and verification mechanism for the judicial system by the end of the month, which will document Bulgaria's progress in fighting organized crime and establishing the rule of law, said Humphreys.

Bulgaria is still plagued by corruption, as illustrated by the recently uncovered misappropriation of EU funds under the SAPARD pre-accession aid program.

"This is a high profile case, relevant to our all-time resources. On the negative side, of course, is the misuse of funds, but on the brighter side - action has been taken to expose that and to cooperate with investigators outside Bulgaria to ensure that actions are taken," Humphreys said.

"The fight against corruption, against organized crime is a challenge, it needs to be taken seriously and, of course, it [corruption] cannot be overcome overnight," he added.

Another topic raised at the meeting with the businessmen from Sandanski was the limited opportunities for meat exports from Bulgaria to other countries in the union.

Only one Bulgarian company meets the requisite criteria, and other companies will have to adhere to the same rules in order to gain access to the European market, the EC official said.

He also commented on the recent initiative in Bulgaria to elect the five nurses held in Libya on charges of intentionally infecting children with the HIV virus.

"It is entirely up to the parties and the electors of getting decided who should be nominated and who to be elected. We in the European Union member states fully support the Bulgarian actions to try to get the nurses released, we are 100% behind the Bulgarian authorities. We realize it is a very difficult and delicate issue but we will provide all support that is necessary," Humphreys said.

Humphreys met with Sandanski mayor Andon Totev and local businessmen, visited the European information center in the town and gave a lecture to future diplomats.

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