The Director of the European Anti-Fraud Office OLAF Franz-Hermann Bruener said Thursday in Sofia the EU budget had incurred losses of between EUR 10 M and EUR 100 M from the frauds with European funds in Bulgaria.

However, Bruener declined to specify the exact amount of the losses caused by the violations in Bulgarian as well as to say who benefited from the abuses of EU money.

During his one-day visit to Sofia Thursday the OLAF Director met with the Prime Minister Sergey Stanishev, the Minister of Justice Miglena Tacheva, the Head of the State National Security Agency Petko Sertov, and with the Chief Prosecutor Boris Velchev.

During his joint press conference with the PM Stanishev and the Deputy PM on EU funds Plugchieva, Bruener gave a positive assessment of the work of the Bulgarian authorities during the last three months.

However, he did insist on more preventive measures against future EU money abuses as well as on the issuing of actual sentences on the embezzlement cases.

"A number of things have been done but also a number of things have not been done properly, and a lot of money have ended up where they are not supposed to", Franz-Hermann Bruener stated.

The OLAF head also explained that OLAF and the Bulgarian government had crafted a working program of measures for the next three months.

In Bruener's words, the actions of the Bulgarian government in the three-month period starting now would be critical for confirming the present positive assessment. The OLAF head expects more structural and staff changes on part of the Bulgarian authorities.

During his talks with the PM Stanishev, the OLAF head also posed the question about the potential use of evidence gathered by OLAF in Bulgarian courts, and about the respective legislative changes.

Bruener's previous visit to Sofia was at the end of August 2008.

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