Vice President of the EC responsible for Justice, Freedom and Security, Franco Frattini has praised highly the "enormous progress" Bulgaria marked in the justice area.

The voice of support on the side of the EU commissioner came amid polar commentaries and suggestions on the tone of the May 16 report of the EC.

Franco Frattini was quite positive on the judiciary agenda proposed by Bulgarian Chief Prosecutor Boris Velchev and called to MEPs to deliberate a unanimous stance on the upcoming report.

Frattini met with Velchev and Ivan Grigorov, head of the Supreme Cassation Court, in Brussels on Wednesday.

He stressed Brussels must lend a helping hand to both countries in the consolidation of institutional reforms and the enforcement of recently adopted EU legislation, in order to achieve results.

The EU official has earlier hinted that Bulgaria and Romania could enter the Union on time in January 2007, but will face continued Brussels monitoring on the implementation of justice reforms.

Bulgaria is under pressure to clean-up before EU entry and could face membership delays over the crime and corruption issue.

Frattini has suggested the EC could accept a monitoring system even after the date of accession of the two Balkan countries, but only after it is "commonly agreed" between Brussels and Sofia or Bucharest.

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