Bulgaria loses EU aid

Published: Nov. 26, 2008 at 1:43 AM

BRUSSELS, Nov. 26 (UPI) -- Bulgaria lost millions of dollars in European Union aid when the European Commission found Tuesday its government has not done enough to fight corruption.

The 220 million euros ($285 million) denied Bulgaria by the commission's action is almost half the 500 million euros ($650 million) frozen in July, the BBC reported.

Olli Rehn, the EU enlargement commissioner, said that most of the anti-corruption measures adopted by the Bulgarian government have not yet led to action. For example, he said that investigations have been started but have not yet led to convictions.

"I regret this decision because Bulgaria is an economic success story, it's a very committed and constructive member state," he said. "But we have to play by the book and we have to respect the rules of financial management and therefore there is for the moment no other option."

Bulgaria remains one of the poorest members of the European Union and is generally listed as the most corrupt.

© 2008 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Order reprints



Additional News Stories
NBA: Phoenix 115, Sacramento 107 (12 min)
COL BKB: Wake Forest 77, Gonzaga 75 (14 min)
NHL: Minnesota 5, Nashville 3 (16 min)
NHL: Washington 8, Philadelphia 2 (28 min)
COL BKB: Georgetown 73, American 46 (44 min)
NBA: Minnesota 108, Utah 101 (50 min)
NBA: Denver 106, San Antonio 99 (53 min)
fark
Bar owner commits crimes against humanity. Specifically, he decieved people into drinking Milwaukee's...
Fake toilet concealed drug tunnel linking Mexico with US. Subby thought that smell was paraquat
Hokey Pokey inventor gets body put in, body put out, body put in, not shaken all about
Cambridge University discovers that some condoms on campus contain little pricks
Turns out asexuality may not be a choice, either
MIT team wins DARPA balloon challenge. Thanks for all of your effort, Farkers. We put up a good...