Sarkozy gives Bulgaria's mafia a boost

By aiming to block the accession of Bulgaria and Romania to the Schengen zone until their levels of corruption have been considerably reduced French President Nicolas Sarkozy is helping the mafia in these two EU states, the daily Sega argues: "No one has a greater interest in Bulgaria and Romania being left in a kind of grey zone on the EU's periphery than the mafia. By making Schengen membership conditional on the good will of the mafia he is giving them a welcome incentive to continue blocking the progressive integration of their countries. For the more vital the mafia is, the lower Bulgaria's and Romania's chances are of getting rid of the EU control mechanisms in the areas of justice and internal security and joining the Schengen zone, where they would be subjected to much more stringent monitoring. As long as these two countries remain so isolated the corruption on their borders won't be reduced in the slightest, for it will remain in the dark."

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