Corruption

Since joining the EU on 1st Jan 2007, 6 billion Euros of EU funding has been invested in Bulgaria so far, which has seen its ecomony grow at over 10% per annum, faster than almost any country in the EU.
Earmarked for 10 billion by 2020 Bulgaria has every opportunity to become a success story in the EU. With its location making it the gateway to trade with the rest of Europe as well as Asia and America.
The cost of living being one of the lowest in Europe and the procedures for registering companies very simplistic, with low rates of corporation tax and low rates for employment costs and premises, making it a lucrative proposition for business and enterprise.  In addition Bulgaria is a country very rich in natural resources and can supply quality goods and services at a fraction of the price. With a climate and rich fertile lands capable of growing everything already grown in Europe and many other parts of the world. Bulgaria has many riches including a heritage of ancient historical value as well as a wealth of unspoilt natural beauty spots with its varied landscape.
Bulgaria is blessed with all the ingredients to become a leading player in the EU, if not globally.
However Bulgaria will be its own worse enemy and responsible for its demise unless they tackle with conviction the wide spread corruption poluting their country.
Come 2020 when the EU funding dries up the country will be thrown into turmoil unless it takes seriously its commitment to tackle corruption.
Over the past decade little has changed with corruption being as wide spread today as it has always been.  Bulgarian authorities have taken a lacklustre approach to tackling the country's endemic corruption and have occassionally been hostile to efforts to bring it out in the open.
Despite a formal legal framework that promotes media freedom those critical of the government or speak out against corruption are under constant scrutiny and legal pressure and starved of funds while the government buys 'media comfort' by distributing EU funds dedicated to communications meant to encourage freedom of speech and fairness to open and objective journalism. Despite this there have been many unexplained arrests and even deaths of journalists that have implied a misuse of EU funding. Most recent being Viktoria Marinova....
Bulgaria's anti corruption institute (BORKOR) has been reluctant to take on any high profile cases and instead have brought to justice only a handful of petty offenders.
The EU commission in a recent report labelled BORKOR as 'fragmented and largely ineffective' with the US state department going so far as to call the Bulgarian Judiciary 'the least trusted institution in the country'.
However the government of Bulgaria still deny that corruption is wide spread.

The Bulgarian prime minister also has the support of the president of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker.

"I refute this simplistic idea that all Bulgaria is corrupted," he said in a press conference with Borisov, adding that he was satisfied that the Bulgarian government "has made significant progress"

Based on what evidence?

Perhaps the EU have realised that they were not thorough in initial investigations into the proposals for Bulgaria joining the EU and now after investing so much and with the benefits of EU membership falling under scrutiny from the established EU countries, to trivialize the corruption in Bulgaria may be far better than to expose it in the hope this will not deter the much needed foreign investment into Bulgaria which has so much potential regardless of the corruption to repay the EU the dividends expected and well needed to ensure its credibility going forward...

This article is purely based on my opinion after research undertaken by myself using a variety of information in the public domain that I sourced online