Bulgaria and the EU

Bulgaria's Prime Minister Boiko Borisov has met with EU Commission President Manuel Barroso.

The meeting seems to have been very productive with Barroso emphasising that the next 6 months are CRUCIAL to Bulgaria's position in the EU.He went on to praise the anti-corruption measures taken by the new government and to release some of the SAPARD money that has been blocked by Brussels over concerns over corruption and lack of financial transparency. O.L.A.F. the EU anti-fraud office has also praised the new government for its work.

However Bulgaria's Chief Prosecutor, Velchev has said that very little has been done so far to combat particularly state fraud, and the government faces an enormous black hole in the Budget left by the last government, which was spending frantically in its last few days in office.The Health budget is in a particular mess.

The government will have to raise more money in taxes, which considering that evasion is the norm here will be difficult, public expenditure will also be cut.