EU to give green light for Romania, Bulgaria to join in 2007
Pastor Dale Morgan
Saturday September 23, 2:53 AM
*EU to give green light for Romania, Bulgaria to join in 2007: sources*
The European Union's executive will next week give the go-ahead for
Bulgaria and Romania to join the bloc in January 2007, diplomatic
sources in Brussels said.
Both countries will however be closely monitored before and after entry,
with the possibility of "safeguard clauses" being imposed later in areas
of particular concern, the European diplomatic sources told AFP.
"The Commission's report confirms the 2007 date while imposing
accompanying measures which are identical for the two countries," one
source said.
"They are going ahead with the 2007 date but with some concerns," echoed
another European diplomat who had also seen the draft report. The
"accompanying measures" in eurospeak mean monitoring and the threat of
sanctions but nothing concrete for the time being.
The European Commission will announce its decision on membership for the
pair in Strasbourg on Tuesday, and the sources stressed that the draft
report which was circulating in Brussels on Friday could still be
subject to last-minute modifications until then.
The particular areas of concern, for both Bulgaria and Romania, are
crime and corruption, food security and the future use of EU funds, the
same areas highlighted by Brussels in its evaluation report in May, one
of the sources said.
In the area of crime and justice, the EU's main concern, the Commission
will propose setting up "objectives" to be followed by possible
sanctions if these are not met.
In its May report the Commission called for "urgent action" from Sofia
in the areas of corruption, organized crime and money-laundering.
The May report was easier on Romania although corruption remained a concern.
And early this month Franco Frattini and Olli Rehn, European
Commissioners for Justice and Enlargement respectively, voiced concerns
over disagreements within the ruling Romanian coalition over the fight
against corruption and called on Bucharest to redouble its efforts in
that area.
The possibility of freezing agricultural and structural funding, for the
EU's poorest areas, will also be available if the use of EU money is
deemed unsatisfactory.
In the food sector, the current EU embargo on Bulgarian and Romanian
pork will remain in place due to the continued presence there of swine
fever, the source said.
Such measures, known as "safeguard clauses" may be applied up to three
years after a new member joins the bloc.
Bulgarian Foreign Minister Ivaylo Kalfin seemed to accept this premise
in comments to AFP last week: "I think that the safeguard clauses are
stronger if they are used to apply pressure to countries rather than
being activated now."
EU Commission president Jose Manuel Durao Barroso said early this month
that if Bulgaria is to join in January that "in certain areas it is more
probable that there will be accompanying measures."
Following the announcement Tuesday of the EU executive arm's decision,
there are no forseeable obstacles to the two countries joining up in
January.
Both Sofia and Bucharest signed an accession treaty in 2005 that
foresees them joining the bloc on January 1, 2007. That treaty contains
a clause allowing existing members to postpone their accession by a
year, but only if the Commission recommends it.
Only the refusal by a member state to ratify the accession treaties
could still hold up the process. But in the three places where the text
has not yet been ratified -- France, Denmark and Germany -- the process
is expected to be completed before the end of the year.
While some EU sectors are struggling to assimilate the ten mainly former
Soviet bloc states which joined in 2004, the groundswell of opinion here
is that the EU cannot afford to lose any more momentum by delaying entry
for the neighbours next year.
The stunning 'no' votes in French and Dutch referendums last year
scuppered plans to introduce an EU constitution, aimed at facilitating
the harmonised running of the increasingly disparate group.
Pastor Dale Morgan
Tuesday September 26, 2:04 AM
*
EU to give green light for Romania, Bulgaria to join in 2007*
The European Commission will on Tuesday give the go-ahead for Bulgaria
and Romania to join the EU in January, while warning that future
sanctions are possible amid concern over key areas including crime and
corruption, according to diplomatic sources.
The commission, the EU's executive arm, could have recommended that
membership for the pair be delayed by a year. Instead it will give them
the green light to join up on January, 1, 2007, while handing out the
strictest adherence rules ever issued to new members, the sources said
Monday.
In a draft report, the commission confirms the 2007 date while imposing
accompanying measures for the two countries, one European diplomatic
source said.
"They'll be welcomed in, but the welcome mat has some terms and
conditions attached," echoed another.
The "accompanying measures" mean monitoring and the threat of sanctions
but no concrete sanctions for the time being.
The particular areas of concern, for both Bulgaria and Romania, are
crime and corruption, food security and the future use of EU funds, the
same areas highlighted by Brussels in its last evaluation report in May.
The draft report confirms that Bulgaria and Romania have reached "a high
degree of alignment" in their preparations for membership.
But official corruption and organised crime remain areas of great
concern in both cases.
Both countries will be set "benchmarks" with the threat of "safeguard
clauses" being invoked any time up to the end of 2009 if they do not comply.
In May, the commission called for "urgent action" from Sofia in the
areas of corruption, organised crime and money-laundering.
That report was easier on Romania although corruption was also a concern.
And early this month Franco Frattini and Olli Rehn, European
commissioners for justice and enlargement respectively, voiced concerns
over disagreements within the ruling Romanian coalition over the fight
against corruption and called on Bucharest to redouble its efforts in
that area.
In the judicial field possible future sanctions include the
non-recognition of legal decisions.
The possibility of reducing agricultural and structural funding, aimed
at the EU's poorest areas, will also be available if the use of EU money
is deemed unsatisfactory.
In the food sector, the current EU embargo on Bulgarian and Romanian
pork will remain in place due to the continued presence there of swine
fever, one source said.
Such measures, known as "safeguard clauses", may be applied up to three
years after a new member joins the bloc.
Both Sofia and Bucharest signed an accession treaty in 2005 that
foresees them joining the bloc on January 1, 2007. That treaty contains
a clause allowing existing members to postpone their accession by a year
if the commission recommends it.
Only the refusal by a member state to ratify the accession treaties
could still hold up the process.
While some EU sectors are struggling to assimilate the 10 mainly former
Soviet bloc states which joined in 2004, the opinion here is that the EU
cannot afford to lose more momentum by delaying entry for the neighbours
next year.
If the entry of the eight million Bulgarians and 22 million Romanians
into the EU proves more troublesome then the other EU candidates waiting
in the wings could find their welcome waning.
The stunning 'no' votes in French and Dutch referendums last year
scuppered plans to introduce an EU constitution, aimed at facilitating
the harmonised running of the increasingly disparate group of countries.
The comments about to be meted out by the European Commission on
Bulgaria and Romania will also send a message to other EU candidate
nations, including Turkey, that further enlargement is not a foregone
conclusion.