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EU Gives Green Light for Bulgaria, Romania to Join in January 2007 |
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| post date: Monday 02nd of October 2006 |
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On EU Doorstep: 26 September 2006, Tuesday.
The European Commission (EC) has invited Bulgaria and Romania to join the European Union next year, as they are able to take on rights as full fledged members on 1 January 2007.
Talking to MEPs on Tuesday, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso marked the end of "the historic fifth enlargement of the European Union" with the accession of Bulgaria and Romania.
The readiness of Bulgaria and Romania is a direct result from their efforts to meet the requirements for membership, Barroso said in plenary in Strasbourg. He thanked the peoples and authorities of both countries for the efforts they made to be part of the process of enlargement.
Yet, he reminded that as guardians of the EU Treaties, the monitoring reports on Sofia and Bucharest are a result of "rigorous, fair and objective assessment".
In May 2006 the Commission considered that "Bulgaria and Romania should be prepared for EU membership on 1 January 2007, provided that they address a number of outstanding issues." Since then both countries have made far reaching efforts and addressed many of the challenges.
"This has sufficiently brought them in line with prevailing standards and practices within the Union. As for the limited number of outstanding issues the Commission's report demonstrates that the EU disposes sufficient remedies to ensure that the interests of the Union and its citizens are protected," Barroso said.
Barroso added that until accession and beyond that the European Commission will apply a mechanism of cooperation and monitoring on the continuous progress achieved by both states, particularly in areas of judiciary reform, fight against corruption and organised crime.
"Bulgaria and Romania have carried out an extraordinary reform process and they have gone through a remarkable transformation," the European Commission President said.
"However, there are still a limited number of areas where further progress is needed in the months leading to accession and beyond." The "safeguard mechanisms of last resort" may be applied up to three years after they join.
They include the possibility of withholding EU funding, the temporary suspension of EU rights, banning the sale of unsafe food and the non-recognition of certain civil and criminal judgements or arrest warrants.
Both Sofia and Bucharest will report regularly on the progress they make to the European Parliament and the Council of the EU.
EU leaders are to approve the recommendation at a summit in October. France, Germany, Denmark and Belgium have yet to ratify the Accession Treaty signed in April 2005, but they are expected to do so by the end of the year. |
| source: novinite.com |
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