site.bta Bulgaria Hopes to Complete OECD Accession Talks in Two-Three Years - Foreign Minister

Bulgaria hopes to complete the accession talks with the OECD within two or three years, as is the experience of the EU countries that most recently joined the organization, such as Lithuania, Bulgarian Foreign Minister Teodora Genchovska said here Friday. She was speaking during Question Time in Parliament. 

On January 25, OECD said that it starts accession talks with Bulgaria and another five countries.

Genchovska said that in order to keep to the target, Bulgaria needs to mobilize its administration and provide the necessary funding. It is unclear how much exactly the accession process will cost but according to unofficial information from the OECD Secretariat and deports on past periods, it will be between 2 and 4 million euro a year, she added.

It transpired from Genchovska's answer that the interagency coordination unit for OECD accession, which she chairs, held its first meeting on February 24. The interagency unit mirrors the composition of the government.

The Minister also said that the Bulgarian Parliament has a key role to play in the accession process. Experience so far as showed that it is a good idea to set in place a parliamentary mechanism for OECD accession, with representatives of all political parties.