Brussels, 09/04/2009 (Agence Europe) - On 7 April, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) concluded that Bulgaria's efforts, particularly those for reforming the legal system, had not been those expected. A Commission PACE follow-up report indicated that, “in the haste to meet the strenuous accession deadlines, some of the reforms and, in particular, the reform of the judiciary, have undergone numerous 'cosmetic changes' that have pushed the reforms in an undesired direction”. The report notes that the Bulgarian legal system suffers from preliminary procedures that are too long, as well as a limited number of procedures against senior figures implicated in corruption cases. PACE also found it surprising that judges are trained after they have been appointed and that there is no system for assessing their competence. The document also highlights problems that have not been resolved in the fight against corruption and organised crime. If the problem of legal corruption is far from being resolved, PACE stresses that improvements have, nonetheless, been made against organised crime. The number of crimes recorded fell by 9% in 2008 compared to the previous year and around a hundred people have been charged. Since it joined the EU on 1 January 2007, Bulgaria, like Romania, has been placed under surveillance by the European Commission. Due to its bad results, with Bulgaria losing €220 million in pre-accession aid, €560 million has been suspended. During the presentation of a technical assessment report last February, the European Commission acknowledged that Bulgarian had made progress in Justice and Home Affairs (EUROPE 9846). A new assessment report, of a political character this time, will be submitted in July. (H.D./trans/rh)