More uncertainty clouding Romania's EU accession in 2007

Premier Adrian Nastase will have to deal today, in Brussels, with another two statements questioning Romania’s European Union accession in 2007. The first statement belongs to the European Liberal Democrat Leader Graham Watson, who has asked that Bulgaria be allowed to carry on separate negotiations for EU integration. The group of MPs led by Graham Watson is the third-largest in the European Parliament (EP), also including Pat Cox, the current president of the EP, baroness Emma Nicholson and the renowned Italian judge Antonio di Pietro.

The second statement casting doubts upon Romania’s chances to join the EU in 2007 came from Bavarian premier Edmund Stoiber, who is the leader of Germany’s Christian-Social Union and was the main opponent of the German chancellor Gerhard Schroeder in the electoral race. Edmund Stoiber told Der Spiegel, in an interview that was re-published by several German publications, “an EU enlargement wave encompassing more than ten members is impossible.”

Stoiber’s reticence stems from the Union’s impossibility to fund the integration of Romania and Bulgaria. “It is not right to be talking about the accession of Romania and Bulgaria without mentioning the financial aid that these countries will have to get.” The financial package announced by the European Commission for the two countries amounts to 10 billion euros for the first three years after integration.

These statements have been issued just before the European Parliament votes, next week, the EP country reports on Romania and Bulgaria. This is about the unanimous proposal of the EP Foreign Affairs Committee to push Romania’s negotiations towards consolidation of the rule of law. This means that, besides the eight difficult chapters such as agriculture, justice, administration, which make up the core of direct negotiations (which should be wrapped up by this fall), Romania will also have to deal with monitoring the political measures that are more difficult to gauge, such as depolitisation of justice, annihilation of corruption, especially at the political level, and securing freedom of the press. These new problems are meant to make negotiations more difficult, as the goals are getting harder to reach, since Romania has only a few months left and very big issues to address.

Also, EU integration in 2007 is rendered more uncertain by increasingly persistent requests that Bulgaria (with only six more chapters left to close and with a better grip on community legislation) should be separated from Romania during negotiations. This has been requested by the MPs from the European Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, who have now been joined by the European Liberal Democrat Leader Graham Watson. This proposal will also be voted in the European Parliament plenum next week. There are increasingly more supporters of Bulgaria – if the two reports are compared, the difference in tone is very easily spotted. Bulgaria is congratulated on its significant progress and is also acknowledged for its fast pace. The European Parliament’s Rapporteur for Bulgaria Geoffrey van Orden has asked for this country to be separated from Romania in the process of EU negotiations. On the other hand, Romania’s Rapporteur, baroness Emma Nicholson has asked for accession negotiations to be reoriented towards the political aspects.
adelina.radulescu@zf.ro