Brussels, 27/08/2008 (Agence Europe) - Bulgarian politicians must unite to tackle corruption and organised crime, and to be able to respond to criticism from their European partners, European Consumer Protection Commissioner Maglena Kuneva has stated. She said in an interview published by the Financial Times on Tuesday 26 August that it was vital for Bulgarian politicians to show that they were taking decisive action. According to the Commissioner, Bulgarian authorities had, until recently, been more concerned with national political battles than with sorting out the country's corruption problems. “It's all about good governance,” she said, having “something as simple as a good law code, accurate crime statistics or the introduction of e-government”. “The need is clear. Civil society wants it very much ... The European Commission might be part of the discussion, explaining what needs to be done. But ultimately nobody can do the job except Bulgarians themselves,” she added.
Bulgaria has produced too little in its fight against corruption. The European Commission, therefore, decided, on Wednesday 23 July, to freeze €500 million of European funding (see EUROPE 9709). The government has since promised to speed up investigations into the improper use of Community funds. Franz-Hermann Brüner, Director General of the European anti-fraud office (OLAF), travelled to Sofia on Thursday 21 August to go over with Bulgarian authorities the steps to be taken to be able more effectively to tackle fraud and corruption which are harming European economic interests. “Our message is unambiguous,” Brüner said, adding that “There have been some changes. We are now awaiting the outcome”.
“Bulgaria will pass through this period, I'm sure. I know we're a determined people and we'd like to see the country in good shape,” Kuneva said. “To attach an adjective such as 'corrupt' to the name of a country gives a really bitter feeling. We are a country of more than 7.5 million people. The wrongdoers are not more than 200,” she went on. “Please get to know us better. We are not different” from the other countries of the EU, the Commissioner said, before concluding, “We have thousands and millions of things in common. Unfortunately, we also have some bad things in common”. (B.C./transl.rt)