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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 presented new measures on 5 March to accelerate EU pre-accession preparations with all the Western Balkan countries, including visa liberalisation, negotiations on a 'Transport Community' and better funding for education exchange.

Regarding Bosnia, the Commission hopes that the Stabilisation and Association Agreement will be signed by EU ministers this April (EurActiv 29/02/08). Rehn said the main condition, cooperation with the International Criminal Court for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), had reached "a generally satisfactory level".  Rehn also reiterated the clear membership perspective for Kosovo and Serbia, saying that the latter plays a "key role" in the region. The Commissioner, however, urged Serbia to reaffirm its European commitment, responding to moves by leading Serbian politicians to reject deeper EU relations unless the bloc supports Serbia's claim to Kosovo. 

Links European Union Commission: Communication on the Western Balkans: Enhancing the European Perspective (5 March 2008) Commission: Press release: Western Balkans: enhancing the European perspective

As EU foreign ministers try to breathe life back into the Lisbon Treaty, the charter of institutional reforms rejected by Irish voters last week, Dublin is likely to be offered stronger guarantees in the sensitive areas of taxation, defence and family policies. According to the Financial Times, "explanatory protocols" should explicitly state that the document does not affect Ireland's ability to set its own tax rates, the country's neutrality status or its abortion policy.

Another solution being floated involves a legal assurance that Ireland will never lose its seat at the European Commission table, the Irish Times reports. The Lisbon Treaty enables EU leaders to put the reduction of the size of the commission on ice. Either scenario is expected to be agreed at the first top-level meeting of EU leaders under the French EU presidency in October.

Irish No will not put brakes on EU enlargement Aside from the size of the next European Commission - now capped by the current EU rules - a question mark hangs over the 27-nation bloc's capacity to absorb new members. The Nice Treaty is tailored to no more than 27 member states. When asked about the prospects of EU hopefuls' accession to the EU, Mr Rupel excluded any changes to the process. "The outcome of the Irish referendum in no way changes enlargement policy...The EU unanimously decided to invited the countries of the Western Balkans to take membership so there is no doubt about that," the minister said, but added: "How we will carry that out that is another question."

Just days before crucial parliamentary elections (11 May), the question of Serbia's future accession to the EU has become an issue of existential importance as the country's President Boris Tadic has received a death threat over his pro-EU stance.

A threatening letter was sent to Tadic following his signature of a Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) with the EU, considered to be the first step towards membership of the bloc (EurActiv 30/04/08). It accused the president of being a "proven traitor to the Serb nation" and threatens him with a "bullet to the forehead," the Belgrade daily Blic reports. 

Opposition between the country's pro-European politicians and hardline nationalist parties is currently at its highest since the breakaway Kosovar province unilaterally declared its independence from Serbia on 17 February 2008 - with the backing of several EU countries. A recent poll conducted by the Strategic Marketing agency showed Serbia's nationalist Radical Party slightly ahead of Tadic's pro-European bloc (33.2% to 31.5%), with the nationalist coalition of Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica ranked third (13.8%). 

On the occasion of the Portuguese Presidency launch, Prime Minister José Socrates and Commission President José Manuel Barroso united to urge Poland and other member states to stick to their commitments on the EU Reform Treaty, as nationalist Polish politicians vowed to undermine it. Related: LinksDossier:   The Portuguese Presidency: In Brief LinksDossier:   The EU's 'Reform Treaty' Brief News: Polish nationalist politicians rallied in their opposition to the new Treaty on 2 July, which may endanger a swift agreement on a new EU Treaty at an Intergovernmental Conference (IGC), about to start on 23 July. Roman Giertych, leader of a government coalition party, the League of Polish Families, announced that he would strive to undermine the Treaty. "We will start a campaign against the Treaty because, thanks to Germany, it includes amendments that are putting EU interests ahead of Poland's interests," the nationalist leader told reporters on 2 July.

Slovenia is expected to unblock Croatia's EU accession talks at a ministerial meeting today (15 June). The two countries have clashed for several months over disputed territories on the Adriatic coast.

Background: During the French EU Presidency, Slovenia blocked the opening of nine out of ten negotiating chapters with Zagreb due to an unresolved border dispute (EurActiv 18/12/08).  The Czech Presidency has so far failed to make any progress in the negotiations. Indeed, the EU recently postponed an accession conference after the two countries had failed to show any sign of conciliation (EurActiv 24/04/09).  Diplomats have serious doubts about the viability of Croatia's objective of wrapping up accession talks by the end of the year (so as to be ready to join the bloc in 2010) if the bilateral dispute is not resolved soon (see EurActiv LinksDossier on 'EU-Croatia' relations).  The border dispute between Slovenia and Croatia concerns small pockets of land along the Adriatic coast, which could prove important if accompanied by exclusive access rights to deep-sea zones. 

However, this may not be the end of the region's problems, as similar obstacles are expected to emerge in the Western Balkan accession process as a whole, diplomats told EurActiv.  EU diplomats said the lack of a clearly defined border between Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina could soon create problems "one hundred times worse" than the current dispute between Ljubljana and Zagreb, in which the European Commission has invested a huge mediation effort. 

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. 

"Debate Europe" will have a budget of €7.2 million which will be used to fund a number of civil society projects. It will, among other things, establish 'European public spaces', where exhibitions, debates, seminars and training sessions on EU matters will take place and involve EU officials in activities at regional and local levels in the different member states. The commission will also try and boost its "Debate Europe" website. Launched at the end of January, it has gathered some 12,000 posts by EU citizens so far – something Ms Wallstrom called a "big success". But in addition to its goal to involve citizens in decision-making, the EU is also still aiming to make itself more popular.

A large majority of Serbs still want their country to join the EU (63.9%), although the figure has dropped compared to last October, when 71.5% voiced their support for EU accession, reveals the poll, which was released yesterday (9 April).  However, 71.3% of Serbian citizens consider it unacceptable that the possibility of EU membership is made conditional on Serbia's recognition of its former province's secession. 

Serbia's Kosovo Minister Slobodan Samardzic added that it would be interesting to see whether the EU would continue the stabilisation and association process now that Kosovo is an independent state.  "Should the EU happen to do that, and does it only with independent states, that would automatically mean that the EU was breaching Article 135 of our agreement on stabilisation and association with the EU, where Kosovo's position is clearly defined," the minister explained. 

Governments Kosovar Constitutional Commission: Kosovo's Constitution Press articles B92.net: Poll: Serbians want EU, but not without Kosovo B92.net: Tadić speaks against interference in elections BBC: Kosovo adopts a new constitution

Members of parliament from across the EU, meeting in Brdo (Slovenia) on 7-8 May, have begun developing an embryonic strategy to deal with new provisions contained in the EU's Lisbon Treaty that would significantly increase their powers within the EU. 

Indeed, the Lisbon Treaty, due to enter into force in 2009 once it has been ratified by all member states, would give national MPs a stronger voice in the EU policymaking process by granting them the right to raise objections against European Commission legislative proposals - the so-called "yellow and orange card" procedure.

In this new legislative context, cooperation among national parliaments will be essential. Indeed, a reasoned opinion will have to gather support from at least a third of all EU national parliaments (18 out of the total of 54 chambers in the EU) in order for a proposal to be sent back for review by the Commission (the so-called "yellow card"). To actually strike down a Commission proposal ("orange card"), a simple majority of national parliaments will be required.

Despite an unexpected 10 percent victory in Sunday's parliamentary elections in Serbia, the pro-European camp of President Boris Tadic is not able to govern alone and may depend on the Socialist Party of former dictator Slobodan Milosevic to form a government.

With nearly 98% of votes counted, Tadic's "For a European Serbia" alliance gained 38.75% of the votes - which would translate into 102 out of 250 seats - followed by Tomislav Nikolic's Radicals with 29.2% (78 seats), the State Electoral Commission said. The clear vote comes as a surprise as polls just days before the elections showed Tadic's Democratic Party and the nationalists still neck-and-neck, if anything giving the latter a slight edge.

Links European Union Presidency: EU Presidency Statement on General Elections in Serbia (13 May 2008) Council: Statement by High Representative for Foreign and Security Polics Javier Solana (12 May 2008) Commission: Overview EU-Serbia relations