A European Commission spokesman has admitted that a group of European Union member states seek harsher control and sanctions against Bulgaria and Romania for their unsolved problems in the fields of justice and home affairs.

"This is not a possibility which is being discussed at the level of the European Commission," Mark Grey told the Bulgarian National Radio on Saturday.

The statement comes days after Bulgarian Foreign Minister Rumiana Zheleva said there are intensive talks underway among EU member states, on whether to impose sanctions on Bulgaria and Romania or not, but refused to disclose the countries involved.

Meanwhile three Dutch ministers issued a letter, saying Bulgaria and Romania are still doing too little to tackle corruption and organized crime, while the management of EU funds is still below par.

The Dutch government said it will continue to press for improvements in Bulgaria and Romania at European level. If this does not happen, it will have consequences for the transfer of EU funds to the two countries and their accession to the Schengen area.

Discussions are currently underway in Brussels in response to the progress report that the European Commission presented on 22 July under the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism (CVM) for the two countries. The EU member states under the presidency of Sweden, are now to prepare their conclusions.

In its July report the European Commission noted insufficient progress and decided to extend into 2010 the monitoring system, known as the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism.

The commission decided not to advise other member states to stop cooperation with Bulgaria and Romania on judicial issues, an option known as the "safeguard clause" in the two countries' accession agreements.

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