Probably 2007 - No Surprises from the Commission Report

One more effort, the political stability and four more key-fields to get to a standard level and we will adhere to the European Union on the 1st of January 2007. This is the recommendation of the European Commission for Romania in the monitoring report made public yesterday.

One more effort, the political stability and four more key-fields to get to a standard level and we will adhere to the European Union on the 1st of January 2007. This is the recommendation of the European Commission for Romania in the monitoring report made public yesterday.

The European Commission will say whether Romania and Bulgaria are ready to adhere to the European Union on January 1st 2007 at the beginning of October. This is the predictable decision of the 25 commissars, which has been announced in the plenum of the Parliament in Strasbourg by the Chief of the Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso, and by the commissar for extension, Olli Rehn. The European officials have said that at the beginning of October they will revise the progresses of the two countries that still have to take care of several important issues. "The Commission will see whether January 1st 2007 will be the date of the adherence. This possibility exists, if the measures in the two countries will be decisive", Barroso said. "We promised you a well balanced decision, which should maintain the rhythm of the reforms. Romania and Bulgaria must prove they have the mentality and desire to approach the remaining problems", Olli Rehn said. The Finnish recommended the ratification of the Adherence treaty to the member states that are still to do it. He reminded that the Treaty has clauses that guarantee that Romania and Bulgaria will adhere only when they will be ready.

THE CONDITIONS. Therefore, Romania still has to check four major fields in order to be sure of the adherence to the EU on the 1st of January 2007. The monitoring report shown in Starsbourg yesterday mostly confirmed the evaluations in the report project in the Romanian media during the week before. There are red flags for the Payment Agencies, for the implementation of the Integrated Administration and Control System (IACS), for the capacity of collecting and processing the animal products in order to prevent diseases. The final flag goes to the computerized system for the transmission of the data regarding the VAT.

CORRUPTION. The progresses in the fight against corruption are seen as satisfactory for now, but Romania has to fight back corruption and organized crime. The laws in this field, together with the one regarding the financing of the political parties, have to be modified and the fight against corruption in justice has to continue. Until the monitoring report in the autumn, Romania has to show concrete results of the current investigations and arraignments.

Sources in Strasbourg and Brussels say the adherence on time is conditioned by two major factors. On one hand, these final tasks have to be fulfilled. On the other hand, Romania has to eliminate the risk of the political instability, which would slow down or stop the reforms.

THE DIVIDING REPORT. Strasbourg, the European Parliament, May 16th, a day of great political and emotional importance for the Romanians and Bulgarians. The agitation and the run on the maze-like headquarters of the Legislative have had visible effects on the media in both countries that was hardly waiting yesterday’s conclusions of the monitoring report of the European Commission.

The pressure made the Bulgarians clank up. Our colleagues in the South seemed extremely suspicious towards the Romanian journalists, which didn’t stop them from curbing us quite roughly. They wanted us to give them the report with the conclusions of the report. "You found out the results last night. You know Bulgaria will be postponed for one year and you don’t want to tell us", a Bulgarian journalists said to me. "It is not normal for you to know before and not tell", he continued while trying to make me give him the final report of the Commission, which I didn’t have. I explained to him that the Romanian did not receive any kind of privilege as far as the final decision of the Commission. He finally went back to his colleagues, but didn’t forget to babble something for me.

However, the epopee was only beginning. They promised us we will get the final report at about 11:00 a.m., but our plans were scrambled. When we were running between the press conferences of the political groups in the Parliament and the Romanian observers, we had been told that we wouldn’t get the report any time before it gets to the plenum, when it was to be presented and reviewed…