High-level corruption, independence of the judiciary and low rates of criminal conviction have been identified as the main problem areas for Bulgaria in the upcoming monitoring report by the European Commission.

The report under the EU’s Cooperation and Verification Mechanism (CVM) is expected to be released later on Wednesday.

Local authorities have been commended on admitting to the challenges in those areas, according to the EU Observer who said to have seen the report prior to its release.

However, insufficient effort has been put into clearing the administration and government of dependant figures.

Changes in Bulgaria's criminal code appear to be the only effective measure to ensure progress. Additionally, the legal system will need to become much more transparent and objective by the EU standards, according to the report.

Romania, which joined the EU in 2007 together with Bulgaria, was credited for executing reforms of its judiciary in a separate CVM report.

However, some shortcomings in the Romanian justice system remain, including ''acting too slowly to lift the immunity of MPs'', to convict criminals and to confiscate assets.

The CVM reports “will make sad reading for Bulgarian and Romanian politicians hoping to join the EU’s passport-free Schengen travel zone after years of delay," EUobserver commented.

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