BULGARIA: A report from a European Union expert has sharply criticised accession candidate Bulgaria for what it says are deep deficiencies in its fight against corruption and organised crime.
Bulgaria finished entry negotiations with the EU in June and plans to join in 2007, but it has been repeatedly warned to step up its fight against corruption and mafia-style criminality still plaguing the poor Balkan state.
The report, written by EU-appointed expert Byron Davies, said Bulgaria lacked the equipment, infrastructure and laws needed to fight gangsterism.
"The overall impression gained by the expert concerning the weaponry in Bulgaria's armoury for the fight against organised crime was that it was completely empty," said the report obtained by journalists yesterday.
A diplomatic source who wished not to be identified said the paper was part of an EU process for monitoring whether Bulgaria is meeting commitments agreed in accession talks.
He said the report was not a public document.
Bulgaria's Interior Ministry was not immediately available to comment. A government spokesman said the cabinet would comment only after it received an official report from Brussels.
The document said that, among other shortcomings, police and investigators showed poor co-ordination, and no one body was in charge of gathering and disseminating anti-crime intelligence.
The report criticised what it said was a lax attitude towards criminals who have accelerated a bloody gang war in Bulgaria's capital. "The presence of armed, organised criminals on the streets of Sofia is very evident. Indeed, members of this mission witnessed such louts in action at a restaurant one evening during dinner," it said.
"When asked by the expert to explain how this was being dealt with from a police perspective, particularly the gangster-style killings, the expert was told that it was of no concern to \ member-states." The report said underlying such activities was an illegal trade in drugs and people-trafficking which were of concern to EU member-states.
Gangland-style shootings are common in Sofia. Since June, nine known crime figures have been gunned down in public.