Socialists compromise for EU bid

AFTER winning weekend elections, Bulgaria’s Socialists said they were ready to govern with the outgoing prime minister’s party to keep alive Bulgaria’s hopes of joining the European Union in 18 months.

The Socialists said yesterday they saw Simeon Saxe-Coburg’s centre-right as the third partner in a coalition that will also include a liberal Muslim-minority party.

Socialist deputy leader Roumen Ovcharov said they were even prepared to negotiate the post of prime minister though they believed the job should go to their leader, 39-year-old Sergey Stanishev.

Bulgaria was considered too backward for the EU enlargement drive of 2004 that took in eight other ex-communist countries and is now set to join in 2007, along with Romania.

But both countries have been warned by Brussels to speed up reforms.