Details from EU investigator Klaus Jansen's damning report on Bulgaria's fight against organised crime and corruption were published today in the German daily Die Welt.

The article, entitled "Contract murders and trafficking people", is part of a series of highly critical publications in Die Welt and comes just days after the European Union warned Bulgaria it might not be allowed to join the 25-nation bloc until 2008 unless it tackles organized crime and corruption.

Jansen, who was sent on a Brussels mission to Bulgaria to report on the fight against organised crime and corruption ahead of Sofia's EU entry next year, says law-enforcement units overlook trade in counterfeit goods and shy away from probes into case, which involve both money laundry and drug smuggling.

Jansen describes trafficking people as one of the gravest problems in Bulgaria.

The expert says he was surprised to find out that unlike most European countries, which invest all efforts to crack down on trafficking people, Bulgarian authorities do not take the issue seriously.

"Most of these women know what kind of job they will take up as they have been prostitutes in Bulgaria as well. They get assistance to leave for Europe, where they often change their place of residence and lodge complaints only when their clients get them into trouble," Jansen says.

He points out that none of the weapons used in the latest series of contract murders was on the official register, which proves illegal trade in weapons exists.

Jansen's report, which slammed Bulgaria's efforts to cope with organised crime as chaotic, triggered the indignation of Interior Minister Rumen Petkov. Jansen claimed his attempts to uncover the truth about the crime crackdown were often frustrated. He feared sensitive European police information shared with Sofia by authorities could "end up in the hands of organised crime".

A day after the EU executive report was issued, Jansen commented it was very close to his recommendations.

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