The funds Bulgaria was to receive under European Union's operational programmes have been frozen by the European Commission, Bulgarian member of European Parliament (MEP) Roumyana Zheleva said on March 24, as quoted by Focusnews agency.

Zheleva said the information not officially confirmed and asked the Finance Ministry to say whether it has received a letter saying that the EC has frozen the funds. “Bulgarian society should know if this has happened,” she told the agency.

Bulgaria is to receive 6.67 billion euro by 2013 under seven EU operational programmes, as outlined in the  National Strategic Reference Framework approved by the EC last year, and Zheleva said it would not be the best start if the money were frozen in the second year of the country's EU membership.

“We have paid a huge price for Bulgaria to become a EU member state and the money under the operational programmes should help us change our life for the better. This is the point of our EU membership,” she said.

The EC has stopped payments under three pre-accession programmes - Sapard, Phare and Ispa - over alleged corruption since the start of this eyar.
 
Zheleva is member of the opposition Citizens for the European Development of Bulgaria, abbreviated as GERB in Bulgarian. The party, led by Sofia mayor Boiko Borissov, claims to be the biggest right-wing opposition party in Bulgaria and has been steadily calling for snap parliamentary elections after its strong showing in the MEP and local polls last year.

GERB has just one representative in Bulgarian Parliament, but 5 MEPs. The next parliamentary polls in Bulgaria are due in mid-2009.