The phrases have a familiar ring to them.

“Progress achieved in the judicial treatment of high-level corruption cases in Bulgaria is still insufficient”... “Progress in the fight against serious and organised crime is still insufficient”.

In what most reasonable people agree is a balanced and objective report, the European Commission, drawing on information from and the views of the Bulgarian Government, EC officials, NGOs and others, has concluded that there is no case for imposing any safeguard clauses on Bulgaria, but more progress is needed in key areas like judicial reform and the fight against organised crime.

It is important to underline that this report is different in its nature from previous EC reports. Rather than being a comprehensive audit of all areas of Bulgaria’s governance and administration, the June 27 report assesses only areas identified for special monitoring after the country’s EU accession.

The June 27 report acknowledges that Bulgaria has continued to make progress in remedying weaknesses that could prevent an effective application of EU laws, policies and programmes.

It is notable that senior EC officials are insisting that they believe Bulgaria is capable of completing these reforms. Badgered by foreign journalists about “when a safeguard clause would be imposed on Bulgaria,” EC vice-president and Justice Commissioner Franco Frattini said that the report had been adopted unanimously and no one had proposed invoking the safeguard provisions of Bulgaria’s EU accession treaty.

The report calls on Bulgaria to step up efforts in judicial reform and against corruption and organised crime. However, it should be emphasised that the EC is now addressing Bulgaria as a peer EU member state and continues to extend the hand of partnership in assisting Bulgaria to do what must be done.

It is fortunate that the report is not too generous in its praise, thus staving off the opportunity for those in Government to indulge in self-congratulation. The report rather should be seen as a working document, meaning that its authors and those who voted to approve it want to see its requirements translated into practical action plans.

The Government says that it can do this, and it is clear that there is no time to waste. The mechanism through which Bulgaria is being assessed is apparently open-ended, yet it would be a good day when the need for the mechanism falls away because the benchmarks have been met ? and hopefully, more than met.

Given that there is no time to waste, let us hope that those in Government and all those involved in the implementation of the required steps cast back their minds to last summer. In those final crucial months before the September report that confirmed Bulgaria’s admission to the EU as of January this year, Cabinet ministers and officials were reported to be under orders to forego their summer holidays so that the requisite progress could be achieved.

It would seem appropriate to suggest that the ministers and others devote a substantial part of these long summer days to spending long days in their offices (after all, they are air-conditioned so there need be no great discomfort) dealing with implementation of the required steps. Another landmark report is due in July next year, and perhaps then we shall reassess whether the ministers and others in authority really have done enough to deserve a summer holiday.