15/04/2008 (Agence Europe) - Bulgaria's Foreign Minister Rumen Petkov resigned from the government on Sunday 13 April one month after the police scandal in which he played a key role broke out. In particular, he had been accused of passing on administrative information to the criminal milieu. His resignation comes after the Commission's recent and strong criticism of Sofia for making insufficient progress in the fight against corruption (EUROPE 9634). Following Petkov's resignation, the Commission simply pointed out that it would continue with the pace of reform and support the government so that it may meet its commitments as quickly as possible regarding the fight against corruption and organised crime. A further Commission report is due in July 2008. Graham Watson (UK), who leads the ALDE Group at the European Parliament, hoped a successor would be appointed very soon to remedy the problems relating to corruption and organised crime. (B.C.)