Interior Minister Roumen Petkov is unhappy because people in Bulgaria are ungrateful for the good work done by the ministry.

Petkov expressed his frustration on September 16 at a news conference held to report on his first two years in office.

He said that for years some people had pointed at the Interior Ministry as the main reason Bulgaria would not join the EU, followed by suggestions that Bulgaria would join the EU but under special conditions because of the poor work of the ministry.

“I am not impressed, nor surprised, at the fact that all those who made these suggestions do not find a single word to thank those at the Interior Ministry, who work in a situation that is materially and technically degrading,” Petkov told reporters.

As minister, he could cope with taking flak from everyone in the country, but police who risked their lives every day should be spared such brickbats.

Petkov said that it was clear to him that his administration did not live up to the expectations of Bulgarians.

“I know that there are faults in the ministry’s work, and more precisely, the work of regional inspectors, which is not up to standard.”

Leaving aside the lack of public acknowledgment for the ministry’s work, Petkov listed the main problems of the police in Bulgaria.

“You would understand that, if at a ministry like the Interior, 80 per cent of the budget goes to salaries and social securities, the rest has to be done by magic,” Petkov said. “The magic is in the hearts and souls of the police officers who have not received a single thank you.”

More than 40 per cent of the motor vehicles owned by the ministry were made by the former Soviet Union. “In the past couple of years, only two sets of hand cuffs have been bought by Sofia Regional Police Directorate, which says it all,” Petkov said by way of illustrating budget constraints.

Petkov then turned to the more positive side of his report. He said that Bulgaria would rank as an average country among other EU countries when it comes to crime. Measured against a population of 100 000, with 1776 cases, Bulgaria’s crime rate was about a quarter of that of a country like Germany, Petkov said. Crime numbers on the decline, according to the Interior Ministry report, included the numbers of cases of rape, infanticide, robbery, extortion and theft, while there had been an increase in the number of cases of arson, traffic-related injuries and deaths, and drug-related crimes. In 2006 the Interior Ministry and Customs collectively confiscated about five times more drugs compared with 2002. The trend in premeditated murders had continued its steady decline over the past two years, with figures for 2006 showing that about 78 per cent of registered premeditated murder cases had been solved. Petkov called the zero tolerance policy in the fight against corruption “successful” and said it would be continued. To underline this, Petkov said that 25 staff of different services had been fired for corruption and disciplinary action had been taken against 11.

Petkov said that, despite its achievements, his ministry was still failing to meet public expectations. “But we need to be able to make objective comparisons between the reality in this country and the other EU member states,” he said. At the close, Petkov set aside time for a presentation of the new uniforms of the police. A competition for the production of the new uniforms still has to be announced.