Sofia, 28 March 2008 – Barroso slams Bulgaria on corruption, organised crime

“There is no place for corruption and organised crime in the European Union, they cannot be tolerated,” Barroso told reporters at a joint press conference with Bulgarian Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev, as quoted by Dnevnik daily.

“Honestly speaking, we cannot constantly repeat that more needs to be done,” he added.

Barroso's visit to Bulgaria comes at a time of increased political tension in the country, caused by a severe scandal at its Interior Ministry.

Barroso expressed his confidence Stanishev was doing everything he could to win the fight against corruption and added that the EC was also dedicated to help Bulgaria achieve this goal.

“Of course we cannot name the specific measures that need to be taken. The EC cannot be a judge, it cannot replace the executive and the judiciary,” he commented.

Achieving transparency and full cooperation to finalise the judicial reform are among the tasks the Bulgarian authorities needed to perform, Barroso said. In a veiled warning about the consequences of failure, he added that he wanted "Bulgaria to benefit from the generous solidarity that the European Union can give."

When Bulgaria joined EU last year, it undertook several concrete commitments, including in the field of fighting corruption and organised crime. It was important that it meets in full these engagements – despite certain progress, specifically regarding the judicial reform, Brussels expected greater results as far as fighting corruption and organised crime was concerned, Barroso said, as quoted by Dnevnik.

Achieving transparency and full cooperation to finalise the judicial reform are among the tasks the Bulgarian authorities needed to perform, Barroso said. In a veiled warning about the consequences of failure, he added that he wanted "Bulgaria to benefit from the generous solidarity that the European Union can give."

When Bulgaria joined EU last year, it undertook several concrete commitments, including in the field of fighting corruption and organised crime. It was important that it meets in full these engagements – despite certain progress, specifically regarding the judicial reform, Brussels expected greater results as far as fighting corruption and organised crime was concerned.