April 13, 2005

European Parliament approves entry of Bulgaria, Romania into EU, urges them to carry out reforms

By JAN SLIVA
Associated Press Writer

STRASBOURG , France (AP) _ The European Parliament on Wednesday approved the entry of Bulgaria and Romania into the European Union in 2007, but said both countries still need to make reforms.

Legislators voted 522-70 in favor of Bulgaria , with 69 abstentions, and 497-93 in favor of Romania , with 71 abstentions, in two ballots after a heated debate in which some members asked for a postponement of the vote, demanding the two Balkan countries be given more time to implement necessary reforms.

"No one can say Romania is ready to join the community," said Green party leader Daniel Marc Cohn- Bendit . "Press freedoms, corruption and other issues need to be resolved."

Bulgaria 's parliament speaker Borislav Velikov interrupted the Sofia legislature's session to announce the result to applauding deputies.

"We are grateful to our colleagues in the European Parliament for their support for Bulgaria on its road toward the European Union," he said.

In Bucharest , Romania 's Prime Minister Calin Popescu Tariceanu declared his determination to conform to EU standards.

"The EU is not a guest house that takes everyone, and is not a club that has absurd requirements. We will consolidate the rule of law. We will prepare the administration so that EU laws will be applied in Romania . European integration remains the top goal of my Cabinet," he said.

The EU is not giving Sofia and Bucharest an absolute guarantee they will join in 2007. Their entry treaties contain "super safeguard clauses" that may trigger a one-year delay if certain conditions are not met.

The EU has criticized Bulgaria 's failure to adopt a new anti-corruption penal code and had also called for greater efforts to combat organized crime.

Romania , which the EU declared to be a market economy only last June, must also boost justice and law enforcement, as well as securing rights for the Roma minority. It must also increase environmental protection, accelerate antitrust rules and shed its history of state aid, epitomized by an oversized steel sector.

Wednesday's vote was in danger until the last moment. It followed a last-minute agreement on budgetary terms acceptable to the European People's Party, the parliament's largest political group, and the Greens, who had sought guarantees from the European Council they would be involved in procedures for financing the latest EU enlargement.

"We took a decision last night; our assent to the enlargement would have been deferred if the financial rights of the Parliament weren't safeguarded," said People's Party chairman Hans- Gert Poettering . "But we reached a last minute solution today and agreed on budgetary terms."

Graham Watson, leader of the parliament's Liberal Democratic group, called attempts to postpone the vote "deplorable."

"There were unscrupulous members who wanted to delay the vote for party interests. These are base, deplorable motifs," he said.

The EU foreign ministers and their Bulgarian and Romanian counterparts are to sign the accession treaties on April 25, giving their national parliaments 20 months to ratify the entry of two newcomers, which will raise the EU's membership to 27.

The European Commission is to issue an update in November on how the two Balkan countries are doing in their reform efforts.

In Sofia , parliament speaker Velikov said, "It will be a major task for our parliament in the next weeks to ratify the accession treaty, giving a positive sign to the parliaments of all EU member countries."

The European Union's enlargement chief warned Romania and Bulgaria on that their plans to join the EU in 2007 might be postponed by up to a year if they failed to meet all conditions necessary for joining the 25-nation bloc.

" Romania and Bulgaria must deliver on key reforms," EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn said. "We won't hesitate to use safeguard clauses. The agreement must be conditional. If they fall too far behind, accession may be delayed."

Bulgaria and Romania lag behind even the poorest current EU members. Bulgaria 's per-capita GDP is only €2,504 (US$3,255), with the average monthly wage around €164 (US$213). In Romania , per-capita GDP is US$2,850 (€2,197), while the average monthly wage is US$340 (€265).

In the richest EU countries, per-capita GDP is well over €20,000 (US$26,000).

"The clock is ticking every day from now on," Rehn said. "Both countries will be subject to very close monitoring by the European Commission, Parliament and Council."