Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov has urged Bulgarian municipalities to enhance their efforts on Roma integration.

In a Monday interview, as cited by dnevnik.bg, Tsvetanov emphasized that local authorities had to develop EU funded projects for employment for the Roma community for the next programming period.

Tsvetanov, who heads the National Council for Co-operation on Ethnic and Integration Issues, took part in the eight meeting of local authorities taking place in Plovdiv.

He cited data of the National Statistical Institute indicating that Roma accounted for 4.9% of Bulgaria's work-capable population, adding that the percentage would grow to 23% in 2020.

Bulgaria's Interior Minister suggested that Roma integration would be a major concern for the next government.

Tsvetanov insisted that neither local authorities nor the central government were to take all the blame for the situation, adding that the problem was "the lack of successful policies for years on end."

After highlighting the importance of creating jobs for the Roma community, Tsvetanov went on to say that some 2000 police officers would be appointed by October 2013 to tackle petty crime.

The Interior Minister made clear that 444 police officers were undergoing training.

He also reminded that the Interior Ministry would buy new equipment by the end of 2013, including 42 fire trucks and 250 to 300 low, middle, and high class cars.

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