Bulgaria's recently appointed Deputy Prime Minister Meglena Plugchieva is in charge of all state agencies dealing with absorption of EU funds comprised of over 2000 civil servants.

This was announced by the Prime Minister Sergey Stanishev on Thursday after the weekly sitting of the Council of Ministers.

The government decided that Plugchieva's own political cabinet would have a staff of nine persons. She will be aided by a special directorate at the Council of Ministers comprised of nine more civil servants.

The main responsibilities of the new Deputy PM would be coordination, control, and communication on the absorption of EU money, the government decided as well.

"With the so defined functions, tasks, and authority of a deputy prime minister, all doubts and suspicions whether I would appear in the capacity of a homing pigeon or whether I would have any influence are dispelled", Plugchieva declared.

She explained no structural changes in the units accredited by the EC to work with EU funds would be made. The only difference was that a new deputy prime minister was appointed with means for stricter control.

"All ministers, this is the practice in whole world, are given 100 days to have a transition period of getting to know the job. I was not given even one minute by you. I am asking for your understanding", Plugchieva said.

The PM Stanishev announced that the new Deputy PM was going to present on Friday the government's action plan of specific measures to be taken before June 16 in response to the letter of the EC Enlargement Commissioner Michael Lee from May 8 criticizing the cabinet for failing to comply with EC recommendations.

The letter also made it clear the payments of EU funds under the pre-accession programs would not be resumed until the proper measures were made.

Stanishev also said he had made it clear to the ministers that the absorption of EU funds must be priority number one in the month remaining until June 16.

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