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New York Times Praizes EU's Effect in Bulgaria -

Friday, Jan 20, 2017

The European Union has also pumped in billions of euros in aid to help the country build new highways and roads, develop agriculture and rural areas, and protect the environment. Regular reports published by the European Commission on corruption and organized crime — persistent problems in Bulgaria — have kept local politicians on their toes (though Sofia has made little progress when it comes to uprooting graft and reforming its judiciary), Boryana Dimitrova Katsarova writes for the New York Times.

"The fact that Bulgaria is an E.U. member and there are a number of reforms on the way makes us believe that Bulgaria is definitely on the right track," said Olivier Marquette, managing director for the Bulgarian operations of AES, a power company with its headquarters in Arlington, Va.

A combination of European Union aid, guidance and oversight has meant that within Bulgaria, trust in the bloc and its institutions remains strong, and markedly higher than in most of the rest of the bloc.

About 49 percent of Bulgarians say they trust the E.U., compared with 33 percent who do not, according to a 2016 survey by Eurobarometer, which carries out polling in the region. That is the third-highest level of trust of any member state (behind Lithuania and Malta), and around twice as much trust as Bulgarians have in their own government, public institutions or legal system.

Among numerous stories, the New York Times article outlines that of Lyubomir Vassilev, who lost his money during the run on the CCB bank and managed to recover his USD 6,000 with the aleged help of the EU.

Source: www.standartnews.com