Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-10-25-Speech-2-136"
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"en.20051025.20.2-136"2
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Madam President, Strasbourg is not an ideal place to deal with such important reports in Commission meetings. There is a Commission meeting still going on, while we also have other important issues to deal with, such as avian flu. I therefore apologise for being somewhat late.
We have also identified a limited number of issues of serious concern, covering approximately 10% of the areas covered by the
. These are areas where, unless the countries take immediate and decisive corrective action, they will not be ready by the envisaged date of accession.
Some of these areas require a technical solution. For instance, Bulgaria must reduce the high proportion of uninsured vehicles on the roads; for its part, Romania must fulfil EU requirements in the field of taxation. With regard to these areas of serious concern, I would like to make three particular points.
The first relates to Bulgaria’s and Romania’s ability to reap fully the benefits from EU funds upon accession. To manage EU funds, an overall reinforcement of the administrative structures in both countries is required. This includes the setting-up of paying agencies for agricultural funds and the required structures in the field of regional policy.
Secondly, we are also seriously concerned about areas linked to the functioning of the internal market and to the internal security of the European Union. These include, for example, shortcomings identified in the veterinary sector, which could put at risk the sustainability of food safety in the enlarged EU, and the control of external borders in both countries.
The third area of particular concern is the fight against corruption, where too limited progress has been made so far. The failure to obtain even a single significant conviction for high-level corruption in recent years, despite commonly available information on its scale, is a cause for serious concern. Urgent efforts are needed here by the judiciaries of both countries.
With regard to these shortcomings, the authorities in both countries are strongly encouraged to take decisive and immediate action. This would show that both countries can be relied on to play their parts as future members of the European Union.
The Commission will continue to support Bulgaria’s and Romania’s efforts to prepare for accession to the European Union. Our financial contribution will focus on measures to tackle the shortcomings identified. The total volume of pre-accession assistance available is substantial. The EU budget in 2006 for Bulgaria is around EUR 545 million and for Romania EUR 1 155 million, in other words more than EUR 1.1 billion for Romania.
The Commission will also pursue its intensive monitoring of Bulgaria’s and Romania’s preparations. Next spring, we shall review the situation and may, if necessary, recommend postponing accession by one year. We hope that steps undertaken by both countries will lead us to conclude that such a recommendation is not necessary. As formally confirmed by President Barroso to President Borrell before the summer break, I will also seriously consider your views on the matter before issuing a recommendation on whether or not to postpone the accession of either one or both of the countries.
As I have clearly stated before, should there be serious shortcomings, we would not hesitate to make use of all our remedial tools. This includes not only the possibility of postponing accession by one year, but also all other available safeguard clauses. I trust that honourable Members of Parliament can agree to this approach.
Now is not the time to speculate on the Commission’s recommendation, but for the acceding countries to concentrate all their energy on the outstanding shortcomings identified in our reports. The possibility of being ready in 2007 has not been lost, but it will require plenty of work from both countries. The present report is not the final assessment; that will be provided next spring, in April or May.
First of all, I welcome the opportunity of presenting the results of our intensive monitoring of Bulgaria’s and Romania’s preparations for accession and also holding an exchange of views with you on this important issue.
Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to express my appreciation for the constant interest and support of the European Parliament for Bulgaria’s and Romania’s accession process. I look forward to a continued dialogue with you on the implementation of Bulgaria’s and Romania’s commitments. I trust that the newly-arrived observers from the two countries will contribute positively, so as to influence the perceptions of Bulgaria and Romania within the EU.
The European Parliament has played a decisive role in ensuring that the fifth round of enlargement is well prepared. I am grateful for the cooperation received since I have been in office and look forward to discussing the challenges ahead.
Let me also thank Parliament, especially its Committee on Foreign Affairs, and the rapporteurs, Messrs Van Orden and Moscovici, for their contribution to this exercise.
When we opened accession negotiations in early 2000 with an additional six candidate countries, we could not know how long the accession negotiations with each of them would finally take. Quite clearly, all six countries were part of the fifth enlargement round. The accession of Bulgaria and Romania will therefore complete this fifth round of enlargement, encompassing 12 countries in total.
Overall, the reports on the two countries show that both have continued to make progress in fulfilling their accession requirements. Bulgaria, having rather lost momentum after the conclusion of the negotiations in summer 2004, has now worked energetically to make up for lost time after the parliamentary elections of June 2005. Romania has caught up impressively in the fields of justice reform, competition policy and the state aids regime, as well as the overall level of alignment with EU legislation.
Both countries continue to fulfil the political criteria, which are, as you know, related to the rule of law, human rights and democracy. While much has been done, there is a need for further progress. In particular, efforts are needed to pursue the reform of public administration, to implement effectively the reform of the justice system and to step up the fight against corruption, particularly high-level corruption. In the area of human rights and the protection of minorities and vulnerable groups, further efforts are needed by Bulgaria and Romania.
As for the economic criteria, both countries should be able to comply with them by accession, provided that they continue and intensify their efforts. Both registered robust economic growth last year: 5.6% in Bulgaria and 8.3% in Romania. Both have also pursued structural reforms to their economies. In the case of Bulgaria, particular attention has to be paid to the widening current account deficit. Labour market reforms also need to be enhanced. In Romania, the external balance, wage policy and strengthening of the government’s revenue base call for continued attention.
As regards alignment with the EU legal order – the
we have screened in detail legislative and administrative preparations across 140 separate areas within all 29
chapters. Over 50% of all areas monitored are non-problematic. That does not mean that everything is perfect in those areas, but it means that no real problems are expected, provided that the current pace of preparations is maintained.
In the second category, there are areas where the state of preparations calls for increased efforts. Here, both countries’ authorities are encouraged to target their reform efforts better, so as to come into line with EU requirements in the period leading up to accession. This covers around a third of the
areas."@en1
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