Bulgaria: Bulgaria's prime minister Sergei Stanishev pledged yesterday that the state would be a reliable EU partner and support common energy, foreign and security policies.
He also criticised the media for over-hyping problems with corruption and organised crime in Bulgaria, insisting that the situation was better than in some other EU states.
"The problems with corruption in Bulgaria are quite comparable with those in most new member countries and even better than in some," he said, quoting from a corruption index created by pressure group Transparency International.
Mr Stanishev, who spoke in Brussels the day after a meeting with European Commission president José Manuel Barroso, said Bulgaria was ranked 55th among 146 countries on the corruption index, while Poland was ranked 70th and Romania 85th.
In May, the commission severely criticised Sofia for failing to tackle organised crime and corruption and postponed a recommendation on when it should enter the EU. But in the past 48 hours EU sources have said the commission will recommend on September 26th that Bulgaria and Romania can join in January 2007.
In a presentation to journalists, Mr Stanishev outlined the efforts his government has been making to root out corruption since May.
He said 10 members of parliament, including representatives from government parties, were under investigation. Four senior law enforcement officials have been dismissed amid allegations of corruption and embezzlement and a senior official handling EU funds had been arrested on bribery charges.
"To be frank, sometimes I read articles that a combination of facts, rumours and prejudice that create a position that does not correspond with the real position in Bulgarian society," said Mr Stanishev, who added that Bulgaria would continue to tackle corruption and reform its judicial system after EU entry.
Mr Stanishev also sought to alleviate concerns in Britain and Ireland that a flood of Bulgarian workers would arrive when the country is granted EU entry.
"Please do not be naive. People who really want to work in old EU member states are already there in Britain or in Spain, where there are already 150,000 Bulgarians. They are already well integrated and have caused no problems to the labour market."
Mr Stanishev said it would unfair if the EU initially suspended structural funds to Bulgaria in an effort to ensure it continued making reforms.
It has been speculated that Bulgaria could face safeguard clauses - sanctions that can be activated after a state joins the EU - such as cuts in funding or non-recognition of court judgments. But Mr Stanishev said it would be wrong and unfair for the EU to say Bulgaria should receive less money, until it had completed a proper assessment of its compliance with the accession treaties.
EU justice commissioner Franco Frattini also said there should be no strings attached to Bulgaria and Romania's entrance to the EU. "To say, well, you enter the EU, you are a full member but you are submitted to one, two, three safeguard clauses - that would mean establishing second-class members," said Mr Frattini, who added that Bulgaria would take a major step forward if it approved a constitutional reform on the independence of the judiciary.