Contributed by Liliya Sazonova, Bulgaria National VAW Monitor

Following the conclusion of the negotiations in December 2004, the European Union decided that it would continue to closely monitor Bulgaria's preparations and achievements and that, to this end, the Commission would continue to submit annual reports on Bulgaria's progress towards accession.

In October 2005 the Commission presented its first report showing that although Bulgaria was already well advanced in preparing for accession, trafficking in human beings, among a number of other areas, requires further efforts to complete preparations.

In May 2006 the Commission issued a second report assessing, among seven other areas that were considered to need further improvement in 2005, the fight against trafficking in human beings. In the May report it is stated that since the October 2005 report, there has been progress in the following areas:

1.  The National Anti-Trafficking Commission has recently been installed and has published its policy.

2.  The law on Bulgarian identification documents was amended in order to prevent children travelling abroad unaccompanied for criminal purposes and to prevent trafficking of children.

3.  Increased cooperation with Member States to fight trafficking of human beings has led to the dismantling of networks involved in trafficking in women. Cooperation agreements were signed with several Member States.

4.  Bulgaria has started its witness protection program. Four persons were granted such protection.

However, certain outstanding issues remain to be addressed.

Bulgaria remains a country of transit, and to a lesser extent, a country of origin for the trafficking of human beings. An increasing problem is the trafficking of newborn babies involving pregnant women giving birth abroad. The absence of reliable registration mechanisms leads to a lack of clear information on trafficked persons and the number of missing people. The implementation of the Law on Bulgarian identification documents remains incomplete. The implementation of the witness protection program has been limited.

Overall, limited progress has been made with regard to trafficking in human beings.

Cited in: Monitoring Report Bulgaria May 2006, European Commission, 16 May 2006, http://ec.europa.eu.

The full report can be obtained at: http://ec.europa.eu/comm/enlargement/report_2006/pdf/monitoring_report_bg_en.pdf