BULGARIA: PM FOCUSED RULE OF LAW; U.S. PARTNERSHIP

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 SOFIA 000450

SIPDIS

FOR EUR/CE, DS/IP/EUR, DS/ATA/EUR

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/24/2028
TAGS: PGOV PREL BU
SUBJECT: BULGARIA: PM FOCUSED RULE OF LAW; U.S. PARTNERSHIP

REF: SOFIA 420

Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Ordway for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (C) SUMMARY: Prime Minister Borissov stressed the
importance of U.S. support on rule of law reform in his first
meeting with new Charge d,Affaires Ordway, and urged
Washington to send top-level law enforcement officials to
Bulgaria to help advance his reform agenda. Buoyed by very
positive poll numbers, Borissov recapped his early progress,
including the removal of the controversial and ineffective
leadership of the State Agency for National Security (DANS),
promotion of numerous Western-trained officers to top law
enforcement positions and preliminary work on legislation to
crack down on organized crime and corruption. Borissov is
aware of the difficulty of realizing deep reform in a short
period with tight budgets, but he pledged he would move
forward "aggressively" to achieve the progress the public
demands. END SUMMARY.

The Law Enforcement Prime Minister


2. (C) With both his Interior Minister and Defense Minister
present, the Prime Minister noted his long track record of
cooperation with the United States on law enforcement issues
and expressed his deep appreciation for U.S. assistance. He
emphasized that all of his top appointments are experienced
professionals who have participated in U.S.-sponsored
training and who enjoy long-standing good relations with the
embassy. His career in law enforcement, he said, taught him
the value of U.S. cooperation, and he believes U.S.
expertise, training and technical assistance are now more
important than ever to Bulgaria.


3. (C) Borissov asked that, to the extent possible, the
United States ramp up its law enforcement assistance in
Bulgaria, particularly in combating organized crime,
counternarcotics, smuggling and border security, and
counter-terrorism. He noted that Bulgarian organized crime
groups are very well integrated into regional criminal
networks as Bulgaria lies at the crossroads of the Caucuses
and the Western Balkans. These groups, he said, are the
equivalent of well-funded and well-organized international
criminal "armies" and Bulgaria highly values U.S. expertise
and global reach in the fight against them.

Afghanistan: Increasing Bulgaria's Bang for the Buck


4. (C) In Afghanistan, the Prime Minister noted that
Bulgaria's 474 deployed troops make it a very solid
contributor to NATO efforts given its size and GDP. He
expressed concern that Bulgarian forces in Afghanistan were
divided into too many small contingents across several
regional commands, and as a result had neither the impact nor
the recognition they deserved. He is interested in plans to
combine and if necessary augment Bulgarian forces in
Afghanistan to form a larger, more autonomous unit, and he
seeks U.S. advice on the appropriate configuration and
location. The Prime Minister stressed that budgets were
tight and that U.S. assistance was critical to maximizing the
impact of Bulgaria's overseas deployments. The number of
troops overseas would not be reduced, he said, but he
requested that we work together on a consolidation plan for
Bulgarian forces and find ways they could take on more
ambitious missions and contribute more to the common fight in
Afghanistan without increasing the cost of the operation to
the Defense Ministry.

PM Willing to Wade into Commercial Disputes


5. (C) Ordway thanked Borissov for his efforts to resolve a
commercial dispute involving U.S. firm AES, and stressed the
importance of improving Bulgaria's image as an
investor-friendly economy. The Prime Minister agreed, saying
he would not hesitate to get personally involved when
important commercial disputes involving international
investors could not be resolved at a lower level.


6. (C) COMMENT: As Borissov pushes forward with his
campaign promise to clean house, the first signs of positive
change are beginning to show. It is still too early to know
what this new government can achieve, but the PM's ambition

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has not waned, even as the plummeting economy has restricted
his room for maneuver. As a whole, Borissov's appointments
have been excellent, and he has moved quickly to oust the
worst appointees of the previous administration. The arrest
of the notoriously corrupt former Forestry Agency Director
Yurukov this week received public praise, and Borissov has
taken the first steps to create an interagency task force to
combat organized crime. He is obviously trying to &do the
right thing8 on rule of law and strongly desires U.S.
recognition for his efforts. He will continue to have an
uphill climb as entrenched corrupt interests find their
footing, but with political momentum and a very competent
team behind him, the present is the most attractive
opportunity for reform Bulgaria has seen in almost a decade.
At this critical juncture, additional technical and expert
assistance and high-level visits will have an exceptionally
high impact as we seek to maintain positive momentum on our
rule of law priorities.
ORDWAY