OLAF’s Head arrives on a visit to Bulgaria

The Director General of the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) - Franz-Hermann Brüner comes on a 2-day working visit to Sofia at the invitation of the Deputy PM in charge of EU funds absorption Meglena Plugchieva. Bulgarian Prime Minister Sergey Stanishev and Franz-Hermann Brüner will discuss the cooperation between the Bulgarian authorities and OLAF on combating irregularities during the absorption of EU funds, the government press service announced.

Stanishev is scheduled to talk with Brüner over a working lunch. Brüner's agenda for the day includes also meetings with Bulgaria's Deputy PM Meglena Plugchieva, Minister of Justice Miglena Tacheva and the Interior Minister Mihail Mikov. On Friday, OLAF's Director General will be received by Bulgaria's Chief Prosecutor Boris Velchev, State Agency for National Security's Director Petko Sertov, Minister of Finance Plamen Oresharski, as well as by the Secretary General with the Bulgarian President - Krassimir Stoyanov.

Brüner's visit comes only a month after the European Commission declared that Bulgaria is failing in the judicial reform and fight against corruption and organized crime. In the end of last week, Deputy PM Plugchieva specified that during his visit OLAF's representative will also examine the opportunities for training of the Bulgarian state administration employees working with EU funds. On August 25, another OLAF's inspection on Bulgarian institutions will start, Dnevnik Daily reminds.

In the meantime, OLAF made an official announcement regarding the statements of the former Bulgarian Deputy Foreign Minister Feim /Petar, Bisser/ Chaushev that he intends to sue the former OLAF representative to Bulgaria Gottfried Manfred. Chaushev will claim material and moral damages, BGNES announced.

Chaushev explained that he got very irritated by OLAF's representative who mentioned his name in OLAF's report as the politician who has provided a political cover-up for the notorious "businessman" from Pernik Lyudmil Stoykov.

In response to these publications in the Bulgarian media, OLAF announced that this person Gottfried Manfred is not and has never been an OLAF employee or an OLAF representative to Bulgaria.