At a meeting of the European Integration Council the Government heard information on the country`s progress in implementing the EU membership criteria. The information has been prepared to be used in the annual report of the European Commission on the progress of the membership candidates. The candidate countries have been asked to present their contribution to the annual Commission report before July 1, 2001. The Bulgarian report covers the period between June 2000 and June 2001. Implementing the economic criteria, Bulgaria has achieved a GDP growth of 5.8% in 2000, which is the highest figure since 1990 and guarantees a growth of around 5% in 2001. The progress in restructuring the economy and the increased share of foreign investment which fetched the record of nearly $1.000 M are further pre-conditions for a long-term economic growth, the report says. The competitiveness of the Bulgarian economy tended to improve further leading to an increase in the volume of export (24.2%) and a general shift towards the EU markets. The report also notes the fast pace of harmonizing the primary and secondary legislation with that of the EU and optimising the structure of the administration with a view to the best implementation of the legislation. The administrative reform has been completed in over 70% of the structures of the executive. Energetic measures were mapped out and implemented in fighting corruption at all levels, which provides evidence of the government`s will to improve the domestic environment and attract more foreign investment. Bulgaria remained actively involved in the pre-accession funds of the EU focused on the development of infrastructure, agriculture and environmental protection. Bulgaria has also made a tangible progress introducing the European legal standards with regard to guarding the external borders, visa policies, migration, refugees, police cooperation, fighting organized crime, drugs trafficking and terrorism. An evidence of this progress is the decision of the EU to remove the visa requirements for Bulgarians travelling to the EU countries. The results achieved in implementing the membership criteria in the period under review reconfirm the existence of a working market economy in Bulgaria and a lasting tendency towards improving the mechanisms for its management, says the report approved by the Council.