The definitive division in today's Bulgaria is no longer between right and left, but between the citizens and the mafia. Photo by Dimiter Muftieff

EU member Bulgaria poses a problem for the rest of the community, but the current turmoil is a chance for Brussels to show it knows well what the real game is, German Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung commented.

"Bulgaria is not what an EU state should be but this doesn't mean it breaches any EU treaties or violates any fundamental rights. The oligarchs' rule is exercised from behind the scenes, in an environment that on the surface complies with the rules,” reads the article.

It points out that at times it's almost impossible to distinguish between the normal manifestations of a democratic community and the pathological symptoms of a corruption that permeates all political entities and the state as a whole.

“As long as it doesn't make any major blunders, EU law is powerless against it. … So it's all the more important that the European Commission and the other member states make it clear to Bulgaria that they know very well what the real game is - and that they will use chances like the one that has presented itself in Bulgaria now to clamp down on the oligarchic criminal complex."

Thousands of protesters have taken to the streets in recent weeks denouncing corruption and influence peddling, and demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Plamen Oresharski and his cabinet.

On Tuesday night, nearly 20 people were injured in a melee between police and protesters who had surrounded parliament.





