Bulgaria was ready to join European Police Office Europol from the moment the country entered the EU on January 1 2007, Interior Minister Roumen Petkov said.

Bulgaria met all Europol-related requirements, he said.

Ogranisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) had already discussed Bulgaria's Europol accession during its summit in Brussels from December 4 to 5 2006, an Interior Ministry press release said.

Europol will launch new structures for fighting organised and trans-border crime mainly in the Wester Balkans by March 2007.

Petkov said that Bulgaria would have a leading role in the new structures because it was doing well with information exchange and co-ordination in the region.

Dealing with organised and trans-border crime was among Bulgaria's Interior Ministry priorities for 2007, Petkov said.