January 13, 2005
Romanian Prime Minister Calin Popescu Tariceanu voiced confidence Wednesday that his country will meet the requirements for EU entry in 2007. President Traian Basescu , meanwhile, said achieving that goal requires strong efforts.
( Ziua , Press Review - 13/01/05 ; AFP, Reuters, Rompres , Evenimentul Zilei , BTA, Sofia News Agency - 12/01/05 )
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Voicing confidence that his country will meet the requirements for EU membership in January 2007, Romanian Prime Minister Calin Popescu Tariceanu pledged Wednesday (12 January) to take the steps necessary to achieve that goal.
Romania and Bulgaria are due to sign their accession treaties on 25 April before joining the EU in 2007. The Union , however, has introduced special safeguard mechanisms that would allow entry to be delayed by one year if the countries fail to implement required reforms. The requirements Romania must meet include fighting corruption and addressing shortcomings in the areas of competition, public administration and justice.
"I don't think the EU will be in a position to apply the safeguard clause because the main issues which were of concern in the past -- justice, competition, corruption -- are the main objectives of the new government," Tariceanu said Wednesday, in an interview with Reuters. "So I'm confident that we can achieve this objective."
There is general consensus in Romania that EU integration is the country's top strategic goal. The centrist Justice and Truth Alliance -- which came to power following the 28 November parliamentary elections and Traian Basescu's victory in the 12 December presidential runoff -- has pledged to implement all required reforms.
"Reforming public administration, reinforcing surveillance of European aid for Romania as well as favouring competition and reforming the judicial system are the central points out of 11 priorities for us to fulfil in the coming weeks," Romania's new minister for European integration, Ene Dinga , told reporters on Wednesday. He also pledged that the government would step up the fight against corruption so the country can join the EU in 2007.
At Wednesday's press conference, Dinga introduced Romania 's new chief negotiator with the EU, Leonard Orban , who served as deputy chief negotiator in Vasile Puscas's team between 2001 and 2004.
During its accession talks with the EU, Romania agreed to substantially cut state subsidies to its steel sector. Orban said the government was due to start discussions with the six largest companies in the sector on measures to modernise the industry -- a process which analysts say could be painful, with as many as 8,500 out of the country's 52,000 steel workers likely to lose their jobs by 2008.
On Wednesday, Basescu again stressed that EU integration is the country's main goal. Following talks with the ambassadors of Luxembourg and the Netherlands, Fernand Kartheiser and Pieter Jan Wolthers , he warned that meeting that goal depends not only on diplomatic initiatives, but also on the efforts Romania makes in the months ahead.
Expressing frustration with the level of corruption in the country, as well as with problems in the areas of justice and border control, Basescu pledged reforms to improve the function of state institutions. "I hope my term in office will be one of success for Romania ," he said.
During a visit to the interior ministry on Tuesday, Basescu sharply criticised the way it has been administered. "The law has been stomped upon upside-down inside out over the past years: the elected officers had their attributes and authority minimised , while the appointed officers overpowered the democratically elected bodies," Basescu said, calling for eradication of corruption within the ministry.
"Walk all the distance and turn the Romanian police into a pillar to control legality in the society," he urged the new government.
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