Corruption was the greatest challenge Bulgarian democracy faced months before the country's expected EU accession, Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev told Belgian newspaper Le Libre Belgique.

One of the measures the Cabinet took to combat corruption included the launch of the large-scale operation Clean Hands. Through the media the Cabinet calls for Bulgarian citizens to signal to authorities for any people, companies or institutions receiving and giving bribes.

Stanishev said that dealing with corruption depended on the personal participation of citizens in the programme as much as on initiatives by state institutions. Le Libre Belgique said that many people would participate in the campaign as Bulgarian towns had long before began protesting against the 'regional mafia'.

Bulgaria's chief priority was the country's EU accession, Stanishev said. He said that the EU would benefit from Bulgaria's integration as the country had high economic growth rate and contributed to the stability in South-Eastern Europe and the Western Balkans.

Europe lacked single position on the issue of transatlantic relations, Stanishev told Le Libre Belgique. The crisis in Iraq separated European countries and the EU needed the enlargement to re-gain public trust in the union, Stanishev said.