Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2004-12-15-Speech-3-199"
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"en.20041215.7.3-199"2
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".
Mr President, it is a great pleasure for me to be able to inform you here formally that on 14 December 2004 the General Affairs Council also closed the negotiations with Romania. As I said when referring to Bulgaria, it is a new step towards a really reunited Europe based on mutually accepted principles of democracy and the rule of law.
The European Union expects Romania to respect all its commitments and take all the necessary measures within the deadlines laid down in the EU's position. In this context, I should recall the safeguards we have at our disposal. In October 2005 the Commission will present to the Council a written report assessing Romania's progress in the area of competition policy. Any serious shortcomings observed in this report regarding Romania's obligations under the Europe agreement and/or the fulfilment of the commitments can form the basis for a recommendation by the Commission to invoke safeguards, in particular the one postponing Romania's accession by one year. Here the Council can decide by a qualified majority.
On this understanding, I have come to the conclusion that this chapter does not require further negotiations. Let me say that it is now in Romania's hands to ensure that it meets all its commitments in this chapter, allowing Romania's smooth integration into the European Union.
Turning to justice and home affairs, this is a chapter which is both extensive and complex. It is at the heart of our objective of maintaining and developing the European Union as an area of freedom, security and justice. It has a direct bearing on the lives of every EU citizen, and is therefore a key part of the
which must be respected.
Negotiations on this chapter have been long and detailed. Romania has made a considerable number of firm commitments on all areas of the justice and home affairs
. There are several areas to which particular attention should be paid, such as implementation of the Schengen action plan; ensuring a high level of control and surveillance at the external borders of the Union; implementing the reform of the judiciary; stepping up the fight against corruption to ensure that corruption cases are dealt with in a swift and transparent manner; making considerable progress in filling the large number of vacancies in the police forces; as well as developing and implementing a coherent multiannual anti-crime strategy. These issues have also been addressed in Mr Moscovici's report on Romania.
The Union will closely monitor Romania's implementation of all its commitments related to justice and home affairs, right up to the moment of accession in order to meet EU standards. This includes adhering to the planned legislative schedule and taking further measures to develop the institutional and administrative capacity of all Romanian law enforcement authorities and of the judiciary.
We believe that this should be possible if the necessary political effort, as well as the required financial and human resources, are deployed to this end. If, however, any serious shortcomings are observed in the fulfilment by Romania of its commitments and in particular any of the specific commitments listed in the EU position, this can form the basis for invoking the safeguard clause postponing Romania's accession by one year. Here again, the Council can decide by qualified majority.
The European Union will continue to monitor closely Romania's preparations and achievements, including the effective implementation of the commitments undertaken in all areas of the
and in particular the areas of justice and home affairs, competition and the environment. To this end, the Commission will continue to submit annual reports on Romania's progress towards accession, together with recommendations if appropriate.
I welcome the statement in the report by Mr Moscovici that the European Parliament will monitor the developments in Romania as well and encourage the new Romanian Government to fulfil all the commitments made during the negotiations.
It is quite clear that the report adopted by the European Parliament in March 2004 has fulfilled its purpose as a wake-up call to the Romanian Government. That is how the Romanian Government has perceived it; and it has convinced it to intensify the accession strategy and policies. I was delighted to learn that Parliament, in its latest report about Romania, could subscribe to the recommendations of the regular report of the Commission.
Since then – and I paraphrase the wording of the Commission – we all have made every effort to meet the European Council objectives to bring the negotiations with Bulgaria and Romania to a successful conclusion in 2004, on the basis of its own merits, with a view to signing the Accession Treaty as early as possible in 2005, and we all expect Bulgaria and Romania to fulfil the economic and
criteria and to be ready for membership on 1 January 2007.
I will elaborate briefly on the process of closing the last challenging chapters with Romania and focus on the monitoring system developed to ensure a proper start for Romania within the European Union.
The two remaining chapters, which have been regarded as the most difficult ones – competition policy, and justice and home affairs – were technically closed by the General Affairs Council on 14 December 2004. I believe we have been able to find appropriate solutions for all the issues raised in those final weeks through close and constructive cooperation between the Commission and the Council.
However, closing these two chapters means that the real work continues for the Romanians. Over the next two years Romania will have to make real and sustained efforts in order to be truly ready for membership. Good intentions are not enough: these must be matched by progress on the ground, in particular in the implementation of commitments.
The EU will of course continue to support the preparations at all levels: the Commission will enhance the monitoring of progress commitments undertaken in all areas of the
. We learned from representatives of both governments that monitoring systems helped them very much in continuing, and even intensifying, the reforms needed.
On competition policy, this chapter is at the core of the internal market and European economic integration. The proper enforcement of EU competition rules is a precondition for creating a reliable business environment and requires appropriate administrative capacity. This is a long-term process.
It is for those reasons that competition discipline is also a key aspect of the Europe agreement. Other key aspects are legislative alignment and the institutional and administrative structures in Romania. What needs to be done to bring all legislation, including secondary legislation, into line with the requirements in the areas of antitrust and State aid, in particular in relation to fiscal aid?
The Romanian Competition Council should be given the powers, resources and the well-trained staff it needs to fulfil its role. This Council should prohibit any measures which would be in contradiction with the State aid
and the Europe agreement.
Let me turn to the steel sector, which is a sensitive sector across the EU. Romania has asked for a prolongation of the so-called 'grace period' under the Europe agreement for restructuring the steel industry. Again, we only agreed to this now it is clear that Romania will abide by all the commitments and all the conditions set out in the EU's position. These commitments include drawing up a national restructuring programme as well as an individual business plan, capacity reduction and dismantling of the installations."@en1
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