EU postpones decision on Romania''s accession

The European Commission will draft a new report on Romania and Bulgaria in October. It is this document that will clearly state if Brussels believes the two states are ready to join the European Union on January 1, 2007. The Commission postponed – during the presentation of the progress report on Romania and Bulgaria yesterday, making a recommendation to the heads of state and government in the EU about a clear accession date, as indicated by all the information available lately. Although anticipated, the decision of the Commission is a disappointment for Bucharest. That is because the “concerns” of the Commission about Romania”s accession stage do not include any reasons that raise the question of an accession delay, a possibility that remained open after yesterday”s decision. Premier Calin Popescu-Tariceanu had a hard time concealing his disappointment, saying he would have been glad if that report had distinguished between Romania and Bulgaria more clearly. He added that if Romania had been where Bulgaria was at the moment, a decision to postpone the accession would have probably been made. Even though the Commission did not officially admit it, the decision was postponed because of Bulgaria, which is having serious problems with corruption and organised crime. In the absence of a recommendation from the Commission, the heads of state and government in the EU, set to convene for the summer summit, can do nothing more than to take note of the report and ponder this autumn, based on the next document, whether the January 1 accession date set in the Accession Treaty stands or not. ZF