Eurostat makes an example of Bulgaria

In the wake of the Greek crisis the EU statistics office Eurostat has acquired the right to verify economic data on location in member countries. Doubt over Bulgarian economic statistics has led Eurostat to announce that auditors will soon be arriving in Sofia. The daily Sega writes that the EU wants to make an example of Bulgaria: "Why must the newly empowered statistics office make a bee-line for Bulgaria? The answer is simple: Bulgaria is to serve as a deterrent for other countries. Exposing the poorest EU country won't constitute too much of a risk for European stability. ... However Bulgaria's problem isn't the statistics, but the all-encompassing network of lies and theft, in which it has been enmired for the last 20 years of transformation. It's not for nothing that the tax authorities yesterday [June 8] decided to review 500 tax inspections. It suspects that tax inspectors did deals with companies for bribes. If we've reached the point where we have to inspect the inspectors, it's better for Brussels to take over right away."

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