The key to Bulgaria's success on its way to Europe is in the hands of the Prosecutor-General, said European Commission Vice-President and justice and security commissioner Franco Frattini. At the end of his visit to Bulgaria, Frattini said the selection of the new Prosecutor-General was one of the positive developments in the judicial sector. He noted that Bulgaria had not yet initiated any court proceedings for high-level corruption. Brussels expects more decisive measures against corruption and it is the duty of the new Prosecutor-General to initiate such action, Frattini said. The lack of developments in the fight against corruption is one among the major weaknesses listed in the most recent EC report on Bulgaria's progress towards readiness to join the EU. Bulgaria's strongest argument for joining as scheduled in January 2007 would be to show concrete results in problem areas, Frattini said.
The commissioner praised documents on the fight against organised crime presented by Interior Minister Roumen Petkov and Justice Minister Georgi Petkanov. Such reports will be drawn up every one or two months. Petkov said that by the end of February he would draft a complete report on measures against high-level corruption, Sega newspaper reported.