Bulgaria was putting all effort in meeting the EU entry criteria by the end of the year, Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev said during a meeting with French senators.

The representatives of the ruling Union for a Popular Movement visited Bulgaria to examine reforms related to the country’s upcoming EU entry.

Delegation members said that France was expected to ratify Bulgaria’s EU accession treaty soon, as the country deserved to become union member on January 1 2007, a Council of Ministers press release said.

Bulgaria registered an increase in foreign investment, Stanishev said. France and Bulgaria could deepen their economic co-operation in the fields of energy, transport and agriculture, said Stanishev.

One sign of the improved business relations between the two countries was the increased number of French tourist visits to Bulgaria, Stanishev said.

Stanishev also discussed the closure of some blocks of Kozlodui nuclear power plant. Bulgaria needs to shut down the reactors as part of the EU-related engagements it accepted.

Though the issue was sensitive for Bulgaria as it affected public opinion, the country was going to comply with the conditions related to the functioning of Kozlodui listed in the accession treaty, said Stanishev.