TIP: BULGARIA WANTS TIER 1, BUT STRUGGLES TO FIND

C O N F I D E N T I A L SOFIA 001182 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/21/2016 TAGS: PHUM PREL SMIG KCRM KWMN BU SUBJECT: TIP: BULGARIA WANTS TIER 1, BUT STRUGGLES TO FIND ANYONE TO LEAD THE EFFORT REF: SECSTATE 130406 Classified By: Classified by CDA Alex Karagiannis, reasons 1.4 (b) & (d ) (C) We delivered reftel to Deputy Foreign Minister Gergana Grancharova on August 17. Grancharova, who sits on the National Anti-Trafficking Commission, said she will review the points carefully and that Bulgaria is committed to doing what it takes to move to Tier 1. She also asked us to suggest candidates for the Executive Secretary of the Anti-TIP commission. The two candidates we suggested previously did not stay in the position. Lubomira Dimitrova quit after a few months in office, publicly citing health reasons but admitting privately that she was worn down by the lack of financial and administrative support (an endemic issue as the Bulgarians struggle to upgrade their bureaucracy across the board). Our second suggestion, Konstantin Tomanov, sees no advantage of quitting his position as Secretary of the Delinquency Prevention Commission, our SIPDIS sources tell us. We are prepared to suggest a third possible candidate, but will underscore that Bulgaria's credibility is on the line if candidates cannot be recruited and retained. KARAGIANNIS