By depriving Bulgaria of millions of euros in pre-accession aid on Tuesday, the EU effectively declared the country too corrupt to be trusted with the European subsidies, the International Herald Tribune writes Wednesday.

The article points out that the measure was unprecedented in the history of the Union as it reflected the grave concerns of EU officials that about the abuse of funds by organized crime groups.

The author contrasts Tuesday's decision of the European Commission with the confidence recently expressed by the top Bulgarian politicians - including the Prime Minister Sergey Stanishev - that the EU money, which was frozen in July over suspected violations, would be made available again.

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