EP votes to reorient accession strategy

The European Parliament yesterday adopted by 374 votes in favour, 10 against and 29 abstentions the resolution drawn up by Baroness Emma Nicholson, recommending that the Commission and Council “reorient the accession strategy with Romania.”

The document explicitly mentions that Romania will not conclude negotiations in 2004, as neither will it join in 2007 unless the authorities in Bucharest firmly deal with the high level of corruption, ensure the independence and proper functioning of the judiciary, guarantee freedom of the media, stop ill-treatment at police stations and recognise the rights of the families affected by the moratorium on adoptions. Furthermore, the Parliament insists that the date of Bulgaria’s accession should not necessarily be linked to that of Romania, as Bulgaria is considered to be readier for accession. Bulgaria’s accession date is 2007, the same as Romania’s.

Unlike the version adopted by the Foreign Affairs Committee, the Nicholson resolution was somewhat “softened” in the European Parliament, as the paragraph specifying the authorities in Bucharest had misled the European institutions about the international adoptions was struck out. Still, the report highlights that the Government in Bucharest had indeed violated the moratorium on international adoptions, and this remains a vulnerable spot for Romania. The proposition to edit the report so as to clear the authorities in Bucharest came from the European socialists group with which PSD (Social Democrat Party) is tightly connected, given its affiliation to the Socialist International, following serious lobbying from the ruling leaders.

This amendment does not change the essence of Emma Nicholson’s report and equals a request for monitoring, as she says.

Shortly after the vote in the European Parliament, Baroness Emma Nicholson published on the website of the Liberal-Democrat group within the European Parliament a statement saying “the failure in applying the rule of law and corruption are at the core of Romania’s problems.”

The head of the European Commission Delegation in Bucharest, Jonathan Scheele, feels the vote of the European Parliament “signifies a cold shower the Government surely understood very well.”

As for Bucharest, President Ion Iliescu “contentedly” welcomes the adoption by the EP of the Foreign Affairs Committee report, which can be considered “encouragement for Romania” and regards the criticism in the document as “pertinent and justified.”

The vote in the EP yesterday is a positive and encouraging development disproving the pessimism in Romania over the last few days, PM Adrian Nastase also said.

While the document was still being debated by the EP on Wednesday, EU’s Commissioner for Enlargement Gunther Verheugen had warned Romania that, “the fight against corruption has to tackle the political system. It is not enough to take low-level civil servants to court. The big fish also have to face trial.”
mirela.luca@zf.ro