| Author (Person) | Smith, Emily |
|---|---|
| Series Title | European Voice |
| Series Details | Vol.12, No.13, 6.4.06 |
| Publication Date | 06/04/2006 |
| Content Type | News |
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By Emily Smith Date: 06/04/06 Members of the European Parliament, who last month recommended putting a brake on EU enlargement, are warming to the idea of letting Romania and Bulgaria join the Union next year. But they say the two countries should be kept under tough monitoring and their joint accession should be decoupled if necessary. A closed-door meeting on Monday (3 April) saw Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn update MEPs on progress towards EU membership in Romania and Bulgaria. Although the two countries are currently due to join the EU together, Dutch Green MEP Joost Lagendijk said Rehn told MEPs the Commission was prepared to draft separate proposals if it seemed one country was lagging too far behind the other. Lagendijk said: "Separate accession could well be necessary...the Commission review was far more critical of Bulgaria than Romania." He added that his party was in favour of separate accession deals: "We have always objected to putting both in the same basket. "It was the same with the last enlargement round, Slovenia and Poland were at different stages but they were both allowed to join together." A Commission spokeswoman confirmed that Rehn had "clearly said" separate membership dates were possible, if "objective reasons" called for them. Sources say that judicial reform is now the number one concern for the Commission. Rehn told MEPs that Romania was "on track with reforms of the judiciary system". In Bulgaria meanwhile "progress in the reform of the judiciary system has been limited". He said that though there was much work to be done in both countries before the Commission publishes its recommendation on 16 May, a delay to the scheduled 1 January accession date would only be proposed "in cases of major problems". Graham Watson, leader of the Liberal group (ALDE), said his party was very pleased with Rehn's apparent decision to stick to a 1 January deadline. Anything else would be "a breach of faith, unless we have really serious concerns", he said. Watson added that the Commission was already being tougher with Bulgaria and Romania than it had been with the last round of accession countries, in particular with regard to judicial reform. "It is likely the Commission will be even tougher on Croatia and Turkey when their applications come up...it is unfair." But Hans-Gert Pöttering, leader of the centre-right EPP-ED group, said his party was not so sure accession in 2007 was a done deal for the two countries: "It all depends on the May report, it is too early to know now. " But for Green leader Daniel Cohn-Bendit, "the earth will not stop moving if we put a decision off for a year". He said that any ambiguity over whether or not Romania and Bulgaria had met EU standards would have implications for future enlargements: "If we're not sure what's being complied with, how can we debate Turkey's accession? "It's not a question of whether the glass is half empty or half full: the question is whether it's poisoned." The meeting raised concerns that, even if they join next year, Romania and Bulgaria could be deprived of EU money. The Commission last October warned that, unless the two countries put in place the necessary "structures and mechanisms", they could miss out on "the benefit of EU enlargement" - for example structural funds. Article reports on a closed-door meeting on 3 April 2006 which saw Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn update MEPs on progress towards EU membership in Romania and Bulgaria. Author suggests that separate accession deals were a theoretical option, especially if Bulgaria was found lagging behind with reform of its judiciary system. So far the accession of both countries had been scheduled for 1 January 2007 but there was the option of a delay by a year. |
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| Source Link | http://www.european-voice.com/ |
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| Countries / Regions | Bulgaria, Romania |
