The European Commission denied media reports that Bulgaria had presented false information on results in its fight against organised crime and corruption.

On February 6 2008, Austrian Die Presse published an article quoting EC spokesperson Mark Gray as saying that the information Bulgaria presented for the interim reports on its fight against corruption and organised crime was partially forged, Bulgarian National Radio (BNR) said.

Never had the EC accused Bulgaria of presentation of false data, Gray told BNR.

Gray said at the presentation of the report that the Bulgaria presented factual information while the EC required more analytical information. The EC needed analytical information to compare it to earlier information and to make a detailed analysis of the report.

The EC had already sent an official letter to Die Presse demanding a correction.