Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-12-14-Speech-3-153"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20051214.15.3-153"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:spoken text |
".
Mr President, I am glad to address the House again as regards the preparations of Bulgaria and Romania for accession to the Union.
Let me conclude by thanking the European Parliament for its constructive and balanced approach towards Bulgaria and Romania’s accession to the European Union. This has again been illustrated in the very sound, solid reports from Mr Moscovici and Mr Van Orden. The Commission always welcomes the strong commitment of Parliament in the accession process and its close follow-up of developments in Bulgaria and Romania. I trust that together we will complete the fifth enlargement round and make a success of it.
Much has happened in the past year. Negotiations were completed at the end of 2004, and Parliament gave its assent to the accession of Bulgaria and Romania, after which the accession treaty was signed in April. Currently, the treaty is being ratified in the Member States. Our focus, in the Commission and, I trust, in the other institutions, such as Parliament, is now firmly on encouraging and supporting Bulgaria and Romania to successfully complete all necessary preparations for accession. Neither country should spare any effort or time in completing the challenging work still to be done on the domestic front.
I welcome the active part played by the European Parliament and its Committee on Foreign Affairs and the reports prepared by Mr Moscovici and Mr Van Orden, which highlight the strong and weak points relating to the progress of both countries to date.
As you have seen from the Commission’s comprehensive monitoring reports, which I presented to you on 25 October, our assessment is broadly the same: both Bulgaria and Romania meet the political criteria. At the same time, they need to make further efforts, in particular to strengthen the rule of law, to improve public administration and the justice system, to fight corruption and to protect vulnerable groups effectively. Structural economic reforms need to be continued in both countries for them to meet the economic criteria for membership fully.
As regards the EU
both Bulgaria and Romania have continued to make progress in adopting and implementing EU legislation. They have reached a considerable degree of alignment 13 months before their envisaged accession on 1 January 2007. Nevertheless, in some areas there are still serious shortcomings in preparations and, in general, more attention needs to be paid to effective implementation and enforcement of the legislation.
So, it is far from plain sailing for the moment. Bulgaria and Romania still have a lot more to do and it is important that we, together – Parliament, the Member States and the Commission – keep reminding both countries to stay focused on the significant internal work still to be done. On 7 November, I sent a letter to both Foreign Ministers Kalfin and Ungureanu, in which I urged Bulgaria and Romania to take immediate and decisive action to address the gaps and shortcomings in their preparations.
As regards the remaining issues in Bulgaria and Romania’s preparations, the Commission will continue both to monitor and support them intensively up to accession. I welcome Parliament’s help and efforts in this regard.
Our next rendezvous on this topic will be to discuss a report focusing on the actions taken by Bulgaria and Romania to address the main remaining shortcomings that were identified in October’s comprehensive monitoring report. The Commission intends to present this report to Parliament and to the Council in May 2006. At that moment, the Commission may recommend that the Council postpone accession until 1 January 2008, if there is a serious risk of either country being manifestly unprepared to meet the requirements of membership by January 2007 in a number of important areas.
As President Barroso promised earlier this year, and in the spirit of our discussions in April to create an extended assent procedure, the Commission will use its regular dialogue with the European Parliament and will listen to Parliament’s views on the possible use of the postponement clause. The Commission would seriously consider these views before issuing any recommendation to associate fully the European Parliament in any possible decision to postpone accession. I am ready to meet the Foreign Affairs Committee in the course of the spring, for instance in April, to exchange views on the situation then in Bulgaria and Romania."@en1
|
| lpv:unclassifiedMetadata |
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples