[autom.vertaling] Toetreding van Bulgarije en Roemenië (en)

Parliament expressed its support to Bulgaria's accession to the EU on 1 January 2007 on condition that it implements further reforms in a number of key areas. Parliament warned Romania that "immediate steps" are needed to deal with widespread corruption, discrimination against minorities and other issues if the country is to be ready to join the EU on 1 January 2007.

Bulgaria

In adopting a report drafted by Geoffrey VAN ORDEN (EPP-ED, UK), MEPs urge the Bulgarian government to show "increased and visible determination" concerning problematic areas and "to demonstrate in a concrete manner" that action has been taken before April 2006.

MEPs said that Bulgaria is "as close, or in many cases closer; to fulfilling the accession criteria fourteen months before accession; as any of the new member states ate the same stage in the accession process." Nevertheless, they recalled that the safeguard clauses, including the possible postponement of accession by one year, can be activated next spring and that Parliament is to be fully associated in any decision on this. Thus they called on the Bulgarian government to achieve tangible results and in particular to step up efforts in the fight against organised crime, expressing their concern about "the brazen nature of Bulgarian organised criminal elements". Parliament also urged the Bulgarian government to continue work on its anti-corruption strategy and on reforms of the judiciary, noting there have been few successful convictions of high-level officials for corruption. Other problematic areas remain Roma integration, child welfare, psychiatric care and the agricultural system. MEPs also called on the government to improve all aspects of border control and to make increased efforts in all areas of the internal market.

As regards the Kozludoy Nuclear Power Plant Parliament hoped that Bulgaria would meet its obligations for the closure of units 3 and 4 and called on the Council and the Commission to ensure that Bulgaria would effectively do so. MEPs reiterated their support for the Bulgarian nurses held in Libya, who have been sentenced to death there.

MEPs believe Bulgaria remains on course to meet the common objective of membership on 1 January 2007, "by which time she must have fulfilled the conditions laid down in the Treaty of Accession." They emphasised that the accession of the country should depend exclusively on its own merits yet express the hope that the accession of Romania and Bulgaria will take place at the same time.

Romania

In adopting a report on Romania's readiness for EU accession, drafted by Pierre  MOSCOVICI (PES, FR), MEPs note that " significant improvements " had been made in Romania's preparations for accession. However, they pointed out that progress had not been satisfactory in several areas. Citing " persistent delays " in the fight against corruption and the implementation of legislation on agriculture, public contracts and the environment, the committee called on Romania to take " immediate steps to make good these shortcomings " in order to join the Union on 1 January 2007. MEPs support Romania's efforts to accede on that date, but stressed that this would depend "first on the Romanian authorities' ability to fulfil the commitments made in the accession treaty."

Parliament stresses the importance of the fight against corruption, especially at the highest level, minorities' issues in general and the Hungarian minority problem in particular, the management and security of Romania's borders, the implementation of environmental legislation, referring explicitly to the mining project of Rosia Montana, the guaranteeing of food safety, the protection of children and the disabled, the integration of Roma, and the fight against ill-treatment by law-enforcement personnel. Though noting with satisfaction the improvements of Romanian child protection, Parliament urged the Romanian Government to settle the cases of applications for international adoption made during the moratorium of June 2001, with the goal of allowing inter-country adoptions to take place, where justified and appropriate, in those special cases.

Parliament supports the Commission's plan to reach a decision on whether or not to postpone the date of accession on the basis of the results obtained by Romania by the spring of 2006, recalling that Parliament is to be fully associated in any decision on activating any of the safeguard clauses. MEPs hope that Romania and Bulgaria would join the EU at the same time, but stressed that both should be judged on their own merits.