Bulgaria managed to deal with a large workload to join the EU on time, Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev said during a meeting with European justice, freedom and security commissioner Franco Frattini.

Frattini is in Bulgaria to examine developments in the sectors pointed out as problematic in the final European Commission (EC) report before Bulgaria joined the EU. The fight against corruption featured among these troublesome areas.

Stanishev presented constitution amendments, as well as mechanisms for implementation of the suggested reforms aimed at increasing transparency and accountability.

Bulgaria is working to be a good EU member state, a goal which has turned into national priority, Stanishev said.

Frattini said that the Interior Ministry did a good job in the fight against organised crime.

Justice reforms are hard to implement but of key importance for national development, Frattini said.

Further recommendations involve better cooperation between Interior Ministry and Prosecution and focus on money laundering and the measures to counter it, Frattini said.