By decision of the government, Deputy Prime Minister Meglena Plougchieva, who is responsible for management of EU funds, will chair the Commission for Prevention and Counteracting Corruption, the government information service said.

Plougchieva's deputies will be the ministers of the interior, of justice and of European affairs. The Commission's membership will include the minister of finance and the chairman of the State Agency for National Security.

The chairmen of the National Audit Office, the parliamentary Anticorruption Committee and representatives of the judiciary and NGOs will be invited to take part in the work of the Commission.

The government's decision aims to improve coordination among the executive institutions.

The functions of the Commission are upgraded and will now include the right to initiate legislation as part of the government's anticorruption policy, drawing up strategic documents and organizing the control over the implementation of anticorruption measures.

The government approved a report on the performance of the Strategy for Transparent Government and for Prevention and Counteracting Corruption in 2006-2008. The document presented by Interior Minister Mihail Mikov, hitherto Chairman of the Commission, says that the 114 measures planned for 2008 - legislative changes, personnel training, enhancing inter-institutional coordination and tightening control over the institutions, were carried out in full.

The legislative changes include the closure of duty-free shops at the borders, a conflict of interest bill, a ban on swaps involving state- and municipal-owned land, provisions eliminating any chance for corruption in the area of subsoil resources.

In 2008, the state administration inspectorates and the General Inspectorate with the Council of Ministers conducted 5,092 inspections, including 4,165 acting on tipoffs and 927 planned ones.

A total of 5,493 violations and irregularities were established, 25 of which involved corruption. The inspecting authorities issued 4,289 recommendations, of which 3,210 were implemented. A total of 136 disciplinary proceedings were instituted on petitions of inspectors, 82 cases were referred to the prosecuting magistracy, 56 employees were dismissed, 192 were temporarily removed from their positions or assigned to other ones, 162 were disciplined.

Source: BTA