There is a group of European Union countries insisting that the bloc puts in place serious sanctions against Bulgaria for its failings in fighting organised crime and corruption, Bulgarian Foreign Minister Roumyana Zheleva said in Sofia on September 2 2009.
 
Bulgaria and Romania joined the EU in January 2007 but were subjected to a Co-operation and Verification Mechanism (CVM) about the two countries’ shortcomings in dealing with judicial reform and acting against graft and local mafias.
 
The CVM is due to run its course in coming months, and the most recent report by the European Commission (EC) compiled under the mechanism found progress but continued shortcomings by both countries.
 
Zheleva told a news conference that the new Bulgarian Government, which took office in July 2009 after voters rejected giving a further term to the Socialist-led tripartite coalition that had charge of the country after 2005, had to persuade the bloc that Bulgaria was taking concrete measures to achieve tangible results and so stave off the CVM being extended.
 
Dnevnik said that its sources indicated that Sweden, currently holder of the rotating presidency of the EU, did not want any hint of sanctions or further monitoring. 
 
Other countries, said to include Germany, the United Kingdom, Denmark, Belgium, Finland and the Netherlands were said to favour a tougher approach, demanding to see improved evidence of political will for reform in Bulgaria.
 
Parliament in the Netherlands is scheduled to discuss a report compiled by its foreign ministry in August that says that Bulgaria and Romania have made inadequate progress and the lack of results could affect access to EU funds and the two countries’ admission to the Schengen visa zone.
 
The Netherlands is awaiting a forthcoming report on Bulgaria’s management of EU funds before deciding its stance on whether the supply of EU money to Bulgaria should remain frozen.
 
EC spokesperson Mark Gray told Bulgarian National Radio BNR) that the EC was not holding talks with EU member states on additional measures or sanctions against Bulgaria and Romania.

"We have not taken part in such talks. Discussions are now being held regarding our progress report under the co-operation and verification mechanism. The EU member states under the Swedish Presidency are yet to draw conclusions. The EC is convinced that they will share and accept the report’s analyses, recommendations and assessments," BNR quoted Gray as saying.