Sofia mayor Boiko Borissov and Labour and Social Policy Minister Emilia Maslarova will meet on July 3 to discuss possible solutions to the problem with the illegal Roma neighbourhood in Sofia's Vuzrazhdane district.
On June 29 the European Parliament sent a letter to Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev criticising the eviction of the Roma population in the neighbourhood. The EP said that the Sofia municipality decision could harm Bulgaria's image abroad and affect the country's EU accession chances.
Borissov requested an expert EU delegation to inspect personally the problems in the Roma neighbourhood, Focus news agency reported. Borissov said that he was checking whether the EP had the right to interfere once the destruction of the illegal buildings had received court approval.
Sofia municipality postponed the Roma deportation by one week as it refrained from any actions which might harm the country's EU accession progress, Borissov said.
Radka Hristova from the committee of the Vuzrazhdane district residents thanked Borissov for his timely reaction to the Roma deportation problem. Hristova told Bulgarian National Radio she requested further state involvement in the problem and a meeting with Stanishev and President Georgi Purvanov.
