“We have to play by the book and respect the rules of financial management. Therefore there is, for the moment, no other option,” said EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn (Agence France-Presse, AFP).

In response to the news, Bulgarian Deputy Prime Minister Meglena Plugchieva said, “I am deeply disappointed, I think (the decision) is extremely unfair,” reports the Guardian. She also noted that: “The Bulgarian authorities will nevertheless continue working at the same accelerated rates and strictly implement the European rules and procedures to guarantee the correct and transparent use of all European funds,” according to AFP.

Ivo Kostov, a Sofia-based consultant, told the Financial Times that the measure is a “blow to the government’s credibility as well as a serious loss to the economy at a time when banks are cutting back on lending.”

The BBC recalls how in July, “the commission froze more than 500m euros [US $636 million] in aid to Bulgaria, one of its newest and poorest members, following a scathing EU report.”

“Bulgaria responded to Brussels’ criticism in October by setting up a special unit of prosecutors to investigate mismanagement of EU money. It also passed the country’s first conflict-of-interest law and drew up an action plan,” details AFP.

However, most of these measures are “only a promise of future action, and have not yet been delivered,” said commission enlargement spokeswoman Krisztina Nagy, according to Deutsche Welle.

The BBC writes that the move is intended to show that “the European Commission is not squandering taxpayers’ money, and to warn new and potential EU members that they have to crack down on entrenched corruption.”

Looking to the future, AFP notes that “Sofia’s continued failure to come up to scratch could also jeopardise some of the 11 billon euros [US $14 billion] in funds earmarked to be handed to Bulgaria by 2013.”