Bulgarian ministers, public figures discuss fight against corruption Standartnews - 2002/2/13
Bulgaria is showing signs of success in the fight against corruption, US Ambassador in Sofia Richard Miles told the participants in the Fourth Public Policy Anti-Corruption Forum, organized by Coalition 2000, an initiative of Bulgarian nongovernmental organizations.
Ambassador Miles cited the results of a survey conducted by Transparency Without Borders placing Bulgaria 47th among 60 countries in its corruption perceptions index.
In the coming years the US intends to strengthen its support for anti-corruption programmes in Bulgaria, Ambassador Miles said. He said that the US will continue to support the Bulgarian government's efforts to this end.
Justice Minister Anton Stankov said that corruption is an obstacle to market economy and that is why the government wants to counter it. According to Stankov, there should be a transparent, competition-based procedure in appointing new members of the judiciary...
Interior Minister Georgi Petkanov said corruption was a key priority of the Ministry of the Interior affecting the entire society. He said the Interior Ministry has adopted its own programme to counter corruption by strengthening control within departments.
Silvi Chernev, Chairman of the Court of Arbitration with the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said 12 years of reforms in the judiciary have failed to achieve the desired result. According to him, so far the reform has been quantitative and formal...