Brussels, 06/02/2012 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission is expected to publish its interim report on Bulgaria and Romania in the coming days under the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism (CVM), a Commission spokesman states, adding that the report at this stage is to be adopted on 8 February, or perhaps even Tuesday 7 February. The CVM, applied since 2007, assesses progress made in the fields of judicial reform, corruption and organised crime. At the end of January, a number of governmental sources had said the results for Bulgaria were “negative”. The report for Bulgaria does not in fact look very promising, another source confirms, saying it could be “better” for Romania. According to the Bulgarian media, such as the Bulgarian National Radio (BNR), the report could highlight weaknesses in the judicial system, with its process for the appointment of members of judicial bodies, corruption and certain trials linked to organised crime that have lead to acquittals. The Commission simply states that assessment will not be of a political kind, as is more the case in the annual reports published in July that give a fuller assessment of progress by the two countries. It will be a report that is essentially technical. It will, at any rate, be closely scrutinised by the Schengen member states that have made the conclusions of the CVM reports a major criterion for accepting these countries into the area of free movement, if not a firm condition, as is the case for the Netherlands. (SP/transl.jl)