Bulgaria Under EU Pressure Over Corruption and Organized Crime - Report

Politics » BULGARIA IN EU | September 19, 2008, Friday // 00:00

The European Union (EU) continues their watch over the Bulgarian authorities, who are dragging their feet when putting alleged gangsters on trial, according to an article published in the British daily "Guardian" on Friday.

The publication talks about Bulgaria being under pressure coming from the European Commission (EC) to undertake serious measures against crime and corruption and the possibility for the country to loose millions from the European funds if it fails doing so.

"The arrests of Krasimir Marinov, now 44, and his younger brother Nikolay, 36, both former child wrestlers, were the perfect way for Bulgaria to show how seriously it was tackling the organised crime and corruption that had been the main barrier to EU membership.

Three years on, Bulgaria is safely in the EU, but the Marinovs are no longer behind bars. They are out on bail, after a series of events - including the abrupt death of a key witness, Nikola Damyanov, and mysterious illnesses that kept the brothers from the courtroom for long periods - led to the trial being postponed more than 20 times," the article writes.

The author cites Ruslan Stephanov from Sofia's Centre for the Study of Democracy as saying: "This case is one of the 20 or so under the EU's watchlist so the European commission will use the case's progress to judge Bulgaria's progress in targeting corruption and organised crime."

"Guardian" further reminds its readers that the EC was "watching Bulgaria's courts closely after delivering a devastating assessment of the country's judicial system in a progress report in July" and had already frozen nearly EUR 1 B due to the findings that corruption and organised crime remained a serious problem in the country.

The article defines corruption in Bulgaria as "a way of life for many of its 7.5 million citizens" and talks about the controversy involving road construction in the country, the dangers of being an investigative reporter in Bulgaria and the admissions of "even the most defensive Bulgarian politicians" of existing problems.

The British publication notes that "if Bulgaria does not get its house in order" the EU could take other steps such as refusing to recognise Bulgarian court decisions, bar the country from entering the Schengen zone and from adopting the EUR and withholding structural funds, which add up to far more than the currently frozen EUR1 B.

In conclusion, the publications cites an unnamed European diplomat as saying: "If they don't sort things out, we could find ourselves in a situation where the EU's poorest state is a net contributor, which isn't good at all."

The full text of the "Guardian" article can be found at: http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=97126

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