On July 3 Prosecution, the Finance Ministry and the Interior Ministry signed an agreement for co-operation in the fight against money laundering in Bulgaria.

Focus news agency quoted Finance Minister Plamen Oresharski as saying that the agreement would result in improved crime fight efficiency.

Interior Minister Roumen Petkov said that the agreement stated clearly the responsibilities of the three institutions involved in the money laundering fight. He added that the changes proposed in the document would satisfy Bulgaria's EU partners, which expected some decisive anti-crime measures.

In its May 16 report on Bulgaria's EU accession readiness the European Commission (EC) criticised the country for its inefficient crime fight and high corruption levels. The report stated that Bulgaria had to demonstrate progress in these areas to meet EU requirements and to guarantee on-time entry on January 1 2007.

Prosecutor-General Boris Velchev said that EU criticism was grounded. He added that the agreement would help Bulgaria solve existing problems and that the country would then have to also work on measures against terrorism financing.