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| Bulgaria must amend constitution to complete EU entry talks: Commission
SOFIA, July 10 (AFP) - Bulgaria will need to make several changes to its constitution in order to finalise European Union entry negotiations next year, EU Enlargement Commissioner Guenter Verheugen warned on Thursday. "We need to see clear efforts to tackle certain problems, particularly the reform of the judiciary," said Verheugen, adding that the EU expected Bulgaria to make the necessary constitutional amendments around September. BizVantage – Serious business, investment and technology intelligence for a serious advantage. "Without them, the European Commission cannot guarantee that it will recommend the completion of Bulgaria's entry negotiations in 2004," he told reporters in the Bulgarian capital Sofia. Bulgarian President Georgi Parvanov, whose country hopes to join the EU in 2007, said after talks with Verheugen that he had agreed to scrap the privileges of Bulgarian magistrates, in line with EU demands. "It is important to understand that finalising entry negotiations depends on the European Commission filing a positive report on Bulgaria come October," he said. Bulgaria's legal system has been criticised as inefficient by the government in Sofia and EU institutions alike. Under the current constitution judges, prosecutors and investigating magistrates are guaranteed tenure for life after just three years on the job. They also enjoy immunity from prosecution, as do Bulgarian parliamentary deputies, except for the most serious offences. Verheugen stressed that Bulgaria would be the largest single beneficiary of EU aid for candidate states between 2004 and 2006, receiving a total 1.19 billion euros (1.35 billion dollars), destined for agriculture and infrastructure and to help fund institutional reform. vs/ec/da EU-enlarge-Bulgaria
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