Jean-Claude Juncker: EU Monitoring for Bulgaria Must Remain

The EU's monitoring mechanism for Bulgaria should remain until the country's politicians learn to comply with European values, according to Jean-Claude Juncker.

The European People's Party candidate for European Commission President gave a special interview for the Bulgarian National Radio Thursday.

"I believe the monitoring under the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism (CVM) for Bulgaria should continue. Its effect must be noted, and Bulgaria's progress should be analyzed regularly. I strongly hope significant improvements will be made in the near future", Juncker stated.

"The day Bulgaria meets all the requirements for Schengen accession, it will join the area. I am not against its entrance. Bulgaria has made big progress, but it still needs to improve some things. This is not a question of ideology or an anti-Bulgarian reaction", the former PM of Luxembourg added.

Juncker sees corruption as one of the central problems in Bulgaria, which also worries many of the Schengen countries and make them reluctant to accept it into the area.

The EC presidential candidate made it clear that the European Union must diversify its energy sources in order to be less dependent on Russia and to avoid being politically blackmailed by Moscow.

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