European Commission head representative in Bulgaria Michael Humphreys stressed the country's success in maintaining macroeconomic stability in the first year after joining the EU.

At a round-table organized by the American Chamber of Commerce in Bulgaria, Humphreys noted that the country managed to develop good investment and business climate, which was also pointed out in the commission's annual report on EU enlargement.

The report turned out to be the first official EC document where Bulgaria is not in the list of developing countries but is included as a EU member country.

"However serious reforms in judicial, education, and healthcare systems are still needed," Humphreys said.

"The fight against organized crime and corruption, as well as successful absorption of European funding, are also areas of continued concern," Bulgaria's EU Affairs Minister Gergana Grancharova added.

The initial draft of the European report said tangible results in further reforming the judiciary and fighting corruption are urgently needed in both Bulgaria and Romania.

The European Commission surprisingly left out its expected harsh criticism against both countries for making insufficient inroads against these problems in the final version of the report.

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