‘Unfair’ to postpone EU enlargement, says former Romanian PM

By David Cronin

Date: 16/06/05

Romania's first post-communist premier Petre Roman has warned that the difficulties facing the EU constitution could be used as a pretext to delay his country's membership of the Union.

He said that postponing the entry date for Romania and Bulgaria would "damage a lot the credibility" of the EU enlargement process.

The two neighbouring states are scheduled to join the EU on 1 January 2007. But the accession treaty which both signed in April contains a safeguard clause, allowing for their entry to be put off for twelve months if they fail to meet the criteria for membership.

Speaking to European Voice, Roman attributed the constitution's defeat in France and the Netherlands to weak political leadership. He argued that it would be "unfair" if Romania and Bulgaria's accession hopes were to suffer as a result and that this would send the "worst message" to the two ex-communist states.

"Leaders are retreating from what was agreed as part of a political process in order to be in tune with public perception," he said. "That is not leading. Some could get votes in the short-term because of this. But the general political process of European unification would be jeopardised."

Roman blames the mounting popular opposition to enlargement on the bleak economic situation in Europe's largest countries. "With this situation, people are saying why put money into enlargement, when it is better to put the money inside their [own] countries. Of course, this is a very narrow economic analysis but it is the reality in France, the Netherlands, Germany and Italy," he said.

Roman was the prime minister in the Bucharest government in 1990-91.

Comments by former Romanian Prime Minister Petre Roman.