Bulgarians should understand that the fight against corruption and fraud is a moral obligation for everyone, Alessandro Buttice, spokesman of the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF), said on Monday.

Buttice was among the participants in a workshop on the role of OLAF in protecting the EU funds against fraud, which was organized by the Journalists against Corruption club in partnership with the prosecuting office, OLAF, the European Social Fund and the Operational Programme "Administrative Capacity".

In Buttice's words, OLAF believes that the fight against corruption and fraud is a matter of prevention. He also said that the international community needs to be convinced that the ongoing investigations protect the interests of European taxpayers.

OLAF's Anticorruption Advisor Wolfgang Hetzer said he is positive that change will happen even though there are sure to be disappointments along the way. He also said that a lot of work remains to be done by legislators and the administration.

Elizabeth Sperber in charge of agriculture at OLAF said that they have established very close contacts with their Bulgarian partners in the past eight months. Some of the problems have already been resolved. She, too, is optimistic that the situation in Bulgaria is going to change.

In her remarks at the forum, Deputy Prime Minister Meglena Plougchieva, who is in charge of the management of EU funding, said that in the recent months Bulgaria has been "black-labeld for its problems with corruption". She believes that the situation gets even more complex with elections coming up for national Parliament and for European Parliament. She urged for drawing a line between the problems and the accomplishments: "The problems should be identified and admitted but where progress is made and results are achieved, those should be acknowledged".

Plougchieva said that a criminal police expert of the German Federal Ministry of the Interior is expected in Bulgaria as an adviser on the request of Interior Minister Mihail Mikov. He will assist in the counter-corruption efforts.

Several foreign experts are already in Bulgaria to aid its efforts towards greater transparency and better information exchange.

Plougchieva went on to catalog changes that have been approved in effective laws in a bid to improve transparency and fight corruption, and a package of changes that are still in the pipeline, aimed to streamline the procedures and tighten the requirements for all institutions and citizens.

By way of example, she said that under one proposed amendment (to the Obligations and Contracts Act) all payments of more than 5,000 leva (2,500 euro) will be made by bank; under another persons connected with debtors to the public purse will be barred from public procurement contracts. Also, amendments to a government ordinance will cut to six from 11 months the period from the application for EU funding to the contracting of payment; the number of required documents will be reduced and the assessment committees will include external evaluators and experts to ensure objectivity and preclude discrimination against participants.

Plougchieva also said that a team under her is reviewing the rights for funding under the Rural Development Programme. This sector commands a huge financial resource (3.2 billion euro) which will benefit 80 per cent of the national territory and 44 per cent of the population. "This is why it is important that we have a simple and transparent process of management and utilization of the funding under this programme, and that the control mechanisms are ensured - considering our bitter experience with SAPARD," said the Deputy Prime Minister.

Since last September when a special unit of prosecutors and investigators was set up under prosecutor Margarita Popova, to investigate fraud involving EU funding, 102 pre-trial proceedings have been opened, 27 indictments have been served, six sentences have been enforced and damage for a total of 45 million leva have been prevented.

According to MP Boiko Velikov, who chairs the parliamentary anti-corruption committee, Bulgaria has a problem with confidence in the state institutions. He said that an upcoming meeting of his committee will look into the performance of the customs administration.

Stoiko Steov MP of the anti-corruption committee said that a magistrates' code of ethics is in the pipeline and will hopefully do away with any corruption practices in the judiciary. He does not think that corruption in Bulgaria is of a magnitude that threatens the foundations of the state. He expects a positive European Commission report this summer on Bulgaria's performance in the areas of justice and home affairs.

Source: BTA