The European Commission remains concerned about public health and veterinary control in Bulgaria, according to European Union Health and Consumer Protection Commissioner Markos Kyprianou.

The statement was made after a meeting on July 13 in Sofia with European Integration Minister Meglena Kouneva.

The two discussed the latest steps related to Bulgaria’s EU accession progress as well as areas that continue to cause concern.
Kyprianou said that the area of consumer protection in Bulgaria does not give the Commission cause for concern.

“Much progress has been achieved since my last visit here in October 2005, and I believe that if the pace of the efforts is maintained, most questions would be addressed within the set time limit,” Kyprianou said.

The most difficult areas in the European Union are food safety and the so-called “farm-to-fork” chain, but what matters most is conformity with the standards.

“When a country’s government complies with the acquis communautaire (the EU legislation), its citizens immediately feel the benefit,” Kyprianou said.

If Bulgaria keeps this pace it will meet its commitments in the veterinary control even before the date set for its accession Kyprianou said after meeting Agriculture Minister Nihat Kabil later on July 13.

The two discussed the progress in implementing Bulgaria’s commitments in the veterinary sphere and food safety, in an attempt to outline the problematic areas.

The talks focused on the three red flag areas - animal by-products, establishment of border inspection posts and swine fever.

At a briefing after the meeting, Kabil said that he asked for an additional technical check by the European Commission of the two incinerators in Shoumen (Northern Bulgaria) and Varna (on the Black Sea) to prove that they had the capacity to handle animal by-products on the territory of the country.

The building of a new incinerator was one of the red flags in the latest EC monitoring report, Kabil said. A procedure for selecting a company to study and choose a suitable site for building the incinerator will be launched on July 15.

Kyprianou praised Bulgaria’s progress in the veterinary field since his last visit to this country in October and stressed that the efforts should continue.

According to Kabil, Bulgaria has become a real EU partner because requirements of it have grown and in many areas it is working as a full member.

Kyprianou also recognised Bulgaria’s measures taken for preventing the spread of diseases such as the mad cow disease, avian flu and swine fever. He added that September would be a crucial month because then the EU will start its checks on the main veterinary activities.

There are few areas giving rise to concern in health care, Kyprianou said after meeting Healthcare Minister Radoslav Gaidarski and parliamentary committee on healthcare chairman Borislav Kitov.

The meeting focused on guaranteeing the safety of blood and blood components, Kyprianou said, expressing satisfaction that the issue was on Parliament’s agenda. Another topic discussed at the meeting was mental health.