7.5.2007 by admin.

Bulgaria promises transparency in investigating high-level corruption scandal

07/05/2007

Bulgarian Prosecutor General Boris Velchev said on Sunday he would ask the EU to send experts to Sofia to follow the investigation into a high-level corruption scandal.

(Sofia Echo - 07/05/07; BTA, Sofia News Agency, Dnevnik, Mediapool, Focus news Agency, Netinfo, Bulgarian Government - 06/05/07; AFP - 05/05/07; Sofia News Agency - 04/05/07)

Prosecutor General Boris Velchev (right) and Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev. [novinite.com]

Bulgaria will not tolerate corruption in the political sphere, Prime Minister Sergey Stanishev said on Sunday (May 6th) amid a scandal involving several senior government officials.

“We must give a clear political sign that no one can have a political umbrella in Bulgaria,” he said after a 45-minute discussion with Prosecutor General Boris Velchev.

The scandal erupted about two weeks ago, when the National Investigative Service (NIS) chief, Angel Alexandrov, dismissed Tatyana Sharlandjieva, the leading investigator in a money-laundering probe against the head of Sofia’s central heating company, claiming she had been leaking information to “parties interested in the case”.

In followup statements, both accused each other of wrongdoing. Eventually, corruption allegations were leveled at others, including Economy and Energy Minister Rumen Ovcharov, his deputy, Kornelia Ninova, Deputy Minister for Disaster Management Delyan Peevski and Hristo Lachev, the head of Bulgaria’s tobacco monopoly, Bulgartabac.

All involved are linked either to the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) or the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) — two of the three parties in the coalition government.

Alexandrov, who went on leave last week to facilitate the investigation into the scandal, has accused Ovcharov, who is also one of the deputy chairmen of the BSP, not only of involvement in corruption schemes, but of having threatened him personally.

Claiming he was the victim of a “smear campaign,” the economy minister blamed circles within his party, which have been siphoning state funds, of being behind the economically motivated attack against him. “Many people were kicked out of the game after sponging on the state,” he told reporters Friday, rejecting calls by opposition lawmakers for his resignation.

Returning from a visit to Portugal, Stanishev dismissed Ninova and Peevski. After his meeting with Ovcharov on Saturday, the government announced that the economy minister would take a leave following his return Wednesday from an official visit to Moscow as part of a large Stanishev-led delegation.

Stanishev voiced hope Sunday that the probe into the case would reveal people and informal circles that have been using past contacts as tools for influence and blackmail over the past 17 years.

After his meeting with the prime minister Sunday, the prosecutor general promised a swift and transparent probe into the first scandal in Bulgaria to involve such high-ranking officials. He and Interior Minister Roumen Petkov planned to send a letter to the European Commission (EC) on Monday to request that an EU expert be sent to Sofia to observe the investigation proceedings.

The EU, which has been criticising Bulgaria for its insufficient fight against high-level corruption, is due to issue a monitoring report on the country next month.

Meanwhile, some of the right-wing opposition parties in parliament have suggested they may file a motion of no confidence against the government over the corruption scandal.

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7.5.2007 by Lupo.

Macedonian citizens get biometric passports

07/05/2007

New technology is helping to make Macedonian travel documents more secure and harder to counterfeit.

By Marina Stojanovska for Southeast European Times in Skopje — 07/05/07

“Macedonia is one of the first non-EU countries to issue ID documents with such high-level security and quality,” Interior Minister Gordana Jankulovska said. [File]

Last month, the Macedonian Interior Ministry started issuing new biometric passports that make use of microchip technology. The passports have several types of security that make them difficult to counterfeit. Officials say introducing them fulfils one of the conditions for liberalising the country’s visa regime with the EU.

“Macedonia is one of the first non-EU countries to issue ID documents with such high-level security and quality,” Interior Minister Gordana Jankulovska said. In addition to meeting EU standards, the new passports are fully compliant with guidelines of the International Civil Aviation Organisation, according to her ministry.

Applicants will no longer be required to bring photographs when they apply for a passport. Instead, they will have their pictures taken at the point of issuance, where their fingerprints and electronic signatures will also be collected.

The photo, fingerprint, signature and other personal information will be stored on the 72kb microchip contained in the passport. By law, citizens will receive their passports within 15 days of applying.

The new passports are more expensive than the old ones. Adults over the age of 27 must now pay 33 euros, while those under 27 must pay 29 euros. The cost for children under four is 25 euros. All older passports must be replaced by 2012.

To service Skopje citizens, the Interior Ministry has installed six base points in the Passport Division where the procedure can be completed. Outside the capital, 39 base points have been installed in 29 Interior Ministry offices.

The passports — which will be red instead of the old blue — are not the only changes to documentation. Later this year, citizens will begin seeing new ID cards and drivers’ licenses, all as part of a new production system.

Germany’s Giesecke & Devrient won the tender for project manager of the system — a contract worth 23.5m euros. It provides for setting up two identical personalisation lines that can produce a total of 2,000 passports, 2,400 ID cards, and 600 drivers’ licenses a day.

“It makes both financial and functional sense to go with a combined personalisation system; the decision will pay for itself,” said a representative of the German firm, Hans Wolfgang Kunz.
This content was commissioned for SETimes.com
http://setimes.com/cocoon/setimes/xhtml/en_GB/features/setimes/features/2007/05/07/feature-02

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7.5.2007 by admin.

Science and Technology: new immunology centre to open in Plovdiv

07/05/2007

A new facility in Bulgaria’s second city will help strengthen medical research. Also this week: Greece plans to boost state assistance for in vitro fertilisation.

Plovdiv’s University of Medicine is expanding its facilities. [Getty Images]

The University of Medicine in Plovdiv, Bulgaria announced it is setting up a new immunology research centre. Its establishment is part of a special Education Ministry programme aimed at strengthening medical research in the country.

***

The Greek Health Ministry said it is preparing a draft proposal to increase state assistance to couples who opt for in vitro fertilisation. According to ministry data, one in every five couples in Greece is unable to conceive by natural means, while the costs of in vitro fertilisation are estimated at between 2,000 and 6,000 euro

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