The international press offered unanimous backing for the European Commission's (EC) decision to withhold funding from Bulgaria in light of its failure to tackle organised crime and corruption. But some writers went one step further, concluding that allowing Bulgaria's European Union accession in the first place was a mistake.

One such writer is Adrian Hamilton from the UK's Independent newspaper. "It's their (the EC's) own fault – or rather the fault of the rush to admit new members," he wrote. "Eager to consolidate the gains of the collapse of the Soviet Union, EU leaders and Commission officials simply turned a blind eye to the rampant corruption and almost uncontrolled crime that marked Bulgaria and Romania...European leaders were also keen – in Bulgaria's case – to give support to the pro-Western Prime Minister, Sergei Stanishev, against his nationalist and anti-Western rivals."

Hamilton concludes that Bulgaria's membership now means that the EC has little leeway to force fundamental change. "Once they've (Bulgaria and Romania) joined you lose all leverage short of the nuclear option of immediate expulsion. The European Commission is not going to do that with Bulgaria or Romania. But they're going to be in real difficulties... by withholding grants."

The Financial Times said that both Bulgaria and Romania had to pay the price for not implementing reform. "Bulgaria and Romania were put on notice when they joined the union in January 2007 that they must tackle corruption. They were placed under special monitoring regimes. Romania, despite its difficulties, seems to have satisfied the Commission – just about. But Bulgaria has not and must pay a price," noted the newspaper's comment section.

The Daily Telegraph quotes Nigel Farage, leader of the UK Independence Party: "British tax payers have given millions of pounds to fund organisations which are riddled with fraud at a time when they need every extra penny. That's the real scandal."

David Gow, reporting in the UK's Guardian newspaper, said that the EC's decision would send "an unmistakable signal to candidate countries such as Croatia, Serbia and Turkey about the need to crack down on corruption and to reform their penal codes".

The UK's Daily Mail offered its traditional scathing indictment of Bulgaria, showing a picture of broad-shouldered men in dark sunglasses. Underneath the photograph was a caption that read: "Bulgarian mobsters are a rampant problem."

The International Herald Tribune quoted Elmar Brok, a senior member of the European Parliament from Germany: "It is the only way to ensure the credibility of the EU enlargement process," said Brok, referring to the EU's decision.

Leo Cendrowicz, writing in Time Magazine, described the situation in Bulgaria as "dire" and went on to present a damning catalogue of the country's recent history. "Since 1990, more than 150 people in Bulgaria have been killed in contract killings linked to corruption and organized crime, but there has not been a single conviction in any of those cases. Sofia's central cemetery is dotted with marble monuments engraved with life-size portraits of underworld figures known by sinister names like the Doctor, the Russian or the Godfather."