The Foreign Ministers of the 27 EU member states asked Monday Bulgaria and Romania to accelerate the pace of their fight against corruption.

During its meeting in Brussels, the General Affairs and External Relations Council in Brussels pointed out that the two youngest member states needed effective judicial and administration systems because these were necessary for the proper functioning of the Union.

The statement of the Foreign Ministers asks Bulgaria to move decisively with the reforms in order to achieve tangible progress in all areas, especially in combating corruption.

The Ministers of the 27 point out that the necessary reforms would provide for efficient institutions in the country, and would enable the Bulgarian citizens to take full advantage of the EU funding.

Monday's statement of the Foreign Ministers is in line with the highly critical European Commission monitoring reports on Bulgaria and Romania issued in late July.

Bulgaria's major problems in adhering to EU's standards have to do with failure to crack down on corruption and organized crime, and to absorb properly the billions of EU funding. As a result, some EUR 825 M of EU money for Bulgaria have been frozen.

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