Group items tagged

Having consistently made 'technical' progress, Bulgaria and Romania need help to crack down on corruption, the European Commission said on 22 July with the publication of its annual monitoring reports, pledging further support while the two EU newcomers remain under scrutiny.

Background: When Romania and Bulgaria joined the EU on 1 January 2007, shortcomings remained regarding judicial reform and the fight against corruption - and in the case of Bulgaria, the fight against organised crime. These shortcomings carried the risk that the two countries would be unable to apply Community law correctly and their citizens would not be able to fully enjoy their rights as EU citizens.  A Cooperation and Verification Mechanism (CVM) was set up to assist both member states. Moreover, the European Commission retained the right to use special safeguards, included in the accession treaties and invoked against new member states as a last resort. If used, the process could lead the EU to refuse to recognise court decisions or even freeze payments of EU funds. Such an unprecedented decision, if applied, would also badly hurt the countries' reputations.  In a turnaround compared to previous monitoring reports, where Bulgaria was invariably portrayed as the laggard in meeting EU standards on judicial reform and fighting corruption (EurActiv 24/07/09), the Brussels executive unveiled reports last February which depicted Romania as the slow performer this time (EurActiv 13/02/09).  The annual reports on Bulgaria and Romania are prepared by the Commission's secretariat-general under the authority of President José Manuel Barroso, in agreement with Vice-President Jacques Barrot. Recently the French Senate cautioned against "stigmatising" the EU's most recent members and suggested fine-tuning the CVM (EurActiv 30/06/09). 

The Commission's interim reports on the progress made by Romania and Bulgaria on judiciary reform and fighting corruption and organised crime show that both countries must seriously step up their efforts ahead of the next detailed evaluation due in mid-2008. Otherwise they could face sanctions, Brussels warned. Related:

European Union Commission: Report On Progress in Bulgaria under the Co-operation and Verification Mechanism (4 February 2008) Commission: Report On Progress in Romania under the Co-operation and Verification Mechanism (4 February 2008) Commission memo: Interim Report on Progress in Bulgaria with Judiciary Reform and the Fight against Corruption and Organised Crime (4 February 2008) [FR] [DE] Commission memo: Interim Report on Progress in Romania with Judiciary Reform and the Fight against Corruption (4 February 2008) [FR] [DE] Commission: Assessing ongoing progress by Bulgaria and Romania [FR] [DE]

Frustrations mount over Bulgaria – the most violent, corrupt, and poorest of EU members. Aid is being withheld as reform promises are made (and broken). Can it be fixed?

Bulgaria's case was putting the credibility of EU enlargement at stake: Brussels needed to send a message to those arguing against further expansion and to candidates banging on the door, including Croatia, Serbia, Albania, and Turkey. Just last month, EU officials warned Croatia that its failure to crack down on organized crime and corruption jeopardizes its chance to join the EU next year. "Brussels needed to get serious, to show they're not just taking a country's word for fighting corruption," says Katinka Barysch, deputy director of the Center for European Reform in London. "If they can't do that with Bulgaria, how are you going to do that with the countries still queuing outside?" In late November, Brussels slapped Sofia with an unprecedented penalty, withdrawing €220 million ($315 million) in development assistance – less than the initial threat of €500 million, but still a huge sum for the poorest EU member.

When Bulgaria and Romania were finally admitted to the EU in January 2007, they became the first to enter with strings attached: They were given several months to clean up their legal systems and to develop methods of tracking EU funding. Promises were made, but deadlines were missed, prompting a growing litany of threats from Brussels.

European Commission officials are to visit Sofia and Bucharest this week to assess judicial reforms, EurActiv Romania reports. The visit takes place amid mounting pressure in Brussels to invoke so-called "safeguard clauses" against the two countries, which could result in EU funds being slashed.

Background: Bulgaria and Romania joined the EU in January 2007 under precise conditions. There are three areas where safeguard measures can be invoked under Bulgaria and Romania's EU Accession Treaties: economic, internal market and judicial reforms.  The safeguard clause can be invoked up to three years after accession and could result for example in food export bans or cuts to EU funds in areas such as agriculture and "structural" policies.

Experts from the European Commission will visit Sofia and Bucharest in the week of 19-23 May to assess the justice reforms, EurActiv.ro writes. According to reports in the Romanian press, the mission takes place at a time when some officials in Brussels are wondering whether taking the two countries onboard as early as January 2007 was "a mistake" and are applying pressure to activate the safeguard clause on justice.  Both countries could lose EU funds or have their national court decisions annulled if a safeguard clause is triggered against them. 

The International Herald Tribune concludes its piece by warning that the failure of Romania and – especially – Bulgaria to honour its pre-accession promises mean that further EU enlargement is unlikely. "What has happened in Romania and Bulgaria has changed the rules of the game," the paper quotes Mladenov as saying.

The European Parliament has urged Macedonia to solve the 'name dispute' with Greece, warning the small country against a resurgence of "hate speech" in its media with respect to neighbouring countries.

The European Parliament report, adopted on April 23 with 601 votes in favour and 52 against (30 abstentions), represents a victory for Greece. Indeed, the text calls on "both sides to seize the opportunity to resume negotiations immediately […] so that the issue does not continue to represent an obstacle to the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia's membership of international organisations". 

Following the setback at the NATO summit in Bucharest in early April, when Macedonia did not obtain an invitation to join the Alliance due to the unresolved "name dispute" with Greece, the Macedonian press depicted its neighbour in a style reminiscent of the Cold War (EurActiv 04/04/08). Moreover, the Macedonian press traditionally projects a very negative image of Bulgaria - again reminiscent of Tito's Yugoslavia, when Belgrade had a hostile policy towards Bulgaria. The amendment warning against "hate speech" was introduced by Bulgarian MEP Nickolay Mladenov (EPP-ED) and supported by his compatriot Evgeni Kirilov (PES). 

EU enlargement commissioner Olli Rehn has signalled that Bulgaria could see a suspension of millions of euros in EU aid over persistent shortcomings in the fight against organised crime, in what could be the first ever such move by Brussels' against a member state. The European Commission is preparing a monitoring report on the southeast Balkan country to be published early July, as part of the close scrutiny that both Bulgaria and Romania are undergoing for not meeting EU legal standards before joining the bloc in 2007.

During the first hours of Bulgaria’s long-awaited EU accession, the country received a number of congratulatory wishes from governments and officials around Europe. As it could have been expected, the reactions were positive and optimistic. Nonetheless, statements reminded of the huge responsibility that Bulgaria has taken on by joining the union.

Romania and Bulgaria joined the European Union today, helping to end geographic divisions left over from the cold war and extending the borders of the now 27-member bloc eastward to the Black Sea.

When Bulgaria joins the EU on January 1, it will have completed almost two decades of painful transition from Soviet-style totalitarianism to western-style democracy. After an elaborate project to adapt the country to Europe's political and economic environment, most people believe Bulgaria has developed a liberal democracy. But while the country looks superficially as if it has thrown off the legacy of its old communist elite, socialist views and behavioral patterns remain deeply entrenched.

Romania and Bulgaria will in some respects still be treated by the EU as if they were only candidate members, with the European Commission even slapping a painful "third country" status on Sofia in the area of aviation safety.

Montenegro takes first step towards EU membership[fr][de]  Published: Tuesday 16 October 2007 The EU and Montenegro have signed a Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA), boosting the former Yugoslav state's hopes of becoming a full EU member. Related: LinksDossier:   EU-Western Balkans relations News:   Bulgaria rows with Montenegro over euro notes spelling Brief News: The signing of the SAA and the so-called Interim Agreement took place on Monday (15 October) at a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg.

The event – seen as the completion of the fifth EU enlargement which began in 2004 – will see the EU's population swell from 463 million people to 493 million, its economy grow from €10.8 trillion to €10.9 trillion (the biggest single market in the world) and create new EU borders with Moldova and the Black Sea.

While Bulgarians see joining the European Union as marking the end of a peripheral existence and isolation, they are joining the organisation with no clear priorities. In the EU itself, it has become inappropriate to speak in any momentous terms about Sofia's forthcoming accession. Indeed, there is unease in the EU about the prospect, on account of problems including organised crime, the judiciary and the general weakness of Bulgarian institutions. This has meant the application of safeguard clauses and the continuation of strict monitoring. In spite of this, uncertainty remains in the minds of many decision-makers in key member states.