EU must crank up pressure on Bulgaria in battle against the Mafia

The murder of crime-novel writer and former Mafia member Georgi Stoev has drawn attention to the shady dealings between the Bulgarian interior ministry and the Mafia. According to Adelheid Wölfl, the Bulgarian judiciary never showed any interest in Stoev's repeated offers to give evidence in court as a witness for the prosecution. "Interior Minister Rumen Petkov, who met in public with two members of the Mafia, is at the centre of the affair. However the socialist Prime Minister Sergey Stanishev doesn't have the courage to fire Petkov. He has given Petkov ten days to purge his ministry, but the powerful minister has the upper hand because without his support, the party could split up. The European Commission has now finally said harsh words about the Mafia's involvement in Sofia. It fears not only that EU funding could be finding its way into murky waters, but also that Bulgarian politicians involved in security matters could leak sensitive information to the Mafia. It will be best for Bulgaria if the pressure from Brussels continues and forces Petkov's resignation."

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