Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2006-05-16-Speech-2-212"
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"en.20060516.35.2-212"2
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"Mr President, I should like to thank Commissioner Rehn for the serious way in which Bulgaria’s progress towards accession is being monitored. According to the Accession Treaty, Bulgaria will accede on 1 January 2007 unless the Council unanimously decides, on a Commission recommendation, to postpone entry for one year. The Commission has made no such recommendation. Let us be clear on this. Bulgaria fulfils the political criteria for membership, she has a functioning market economy, economic progress has been maintained and the Bulgarian unemployment rate, while still high, is now lower than that of Germany. In relation to other matters, I note that the 16 areas marked as of serious concern in October have now been reduced to 6. Of course, these must not in any way be underestimated.
Firstly, there is the need for more effective action against organised crime, fraud and corruption. That is the area that most perturbs the people of Bulgaria as well as our own citizens. There has been progress since October. I spoke about that in this House last month, but many of the crime bosses are still at large and there is concern about how far their tentacles spread. Over the coming months, we need to see dramatic results as well as further steps to improve the effectiveness and resources of the police, investigative and judicial services. The Commission must specify more precisely what outcomes are required.
Secondly, not unrelated to the first point, is the need for strengthened financial controls for the future use of structural funds. That is vitally important. There must not be any possibility of what is effectively our taxpayers’ money going into the wrong hands or being wasted. As we have seen from the Court of Auditors’ consistent refusal to sign off the EU accounts, it is an area where the EU itself needs to put its house in order. It is up to the Commission to ensure that effective financial management structures to guarantee the integrity of the funding system are in place and, if necessary, to withhold funding until that is the case.
I believe that the European Council, at its summit in June 2006, should endorse the decision for the accession of Bulgaria on 1 January 2007, at the same time confirming the remedial action that is required of Bulgaria in the months ahead and the nature of possible post-accession monitoring.
In other words, it is ‘yes ... but’! To a certain extent, I believe that is what the Commission is trying to say. For its part, the Bulgarian Government must take urgent action to deliver tangible results, particularly in the fight against organised crime. Much has been achieved in the last six months. It is vitally important that even better results are delivered in the next six months."@en1
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