Bulgaria has made good progress in the development of its macroeconomics and in the fight against corruption, according to Members of the European Parliament from the Budget Control Commission.

The delegation is visiting Bulgaria on the initiative of Bulgarian Deputy Prime Minister Meglena Plugchieva.

The Polish Member of the European Parliament Boguslaw Liberadzki stated that Bulgaria could not be considered a country with high level of corruption because there was no evidence that corruption in the country was extensive or that members of the cabinet were involved in corruption schemes or that the levels of corruption were higher than in other countries members of the European Union (EU).

"Bulgarians should not feel guilty or as a second, third or fourth category members of the EU. The most serious accusations of misuse of European funds come from Great Britain, Germany and Spain. The Bulgarian government has learned their lesson and how to use the country's membership in the EU for Bulgaria's benefit," Liberadzki concluded.

The delegation has inspected 7 projects from the PHARE, SAPARD and ISPA programs of the European Commission (EC). Despite the praise, they have found violations in the use of the European funds.

Nils Lundgren, Member of the European Parliament from Sweden, pointed out that it was very important to monitor how the contracts were made so that the European funds would not disappear in the pockets of certain individuals, but would be used for real projects.

One of the violations established by the delegation involves the case of a company, which has entered into a contract under the EC SAPARD program and soon after has changed its owner. The company has been sold two years after the project has been approved despite the fact that there is a 5-year mandatory prohibition of changing ownership.

The delegation has also established violations in the construction of the "Lulin" highway where the Turkish contractor company is not fulfilling their commitments. The highway construction is financed by the EC ISPA program and from the State budget.

Deputy PM Plugchieva explained that by the end of October she would report on the execution of the Cabinet's action plan for the funds that have been put on hold by the EC.

"We have a ten times increase of the amounts from the contracts under the EC programs. From January 1, 2007 to may of 2008 the value of those contracts is BGN 98 M, while from May to September, the amount is BGN 948 M," Plugchieva stated.

The conclusions of the European Parliament delegation are going to be summarized in a report to be presented before the entire EU Budget Control Commission.

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