26 September 2006
U.S. Welcomes Proposed EU Membership for Bulgaria, Romania
European Commission say countries ready to join, also sets up safeguards
Washington – The United States welcomed the European Commission’s approval of the entry of Romania and Bulgaria into the European Union (EU) on January 1, 2007, and urged the EU to keep an open mind about adding other countries.
On September 26, the European Commission (EC) reported that both countries have made sufficient progress to “be in a position to take on the rights and obligations of EU membership.” The commission added that the two countries need to make further reforms and said it had set up safeguards to assure the reform process will continue after accession.
A formal approval of membership is expected when European Union leaders meet in October, even though the leaders could chose to postpone accession.
The decision is “welcome news for those two countries as well as the EU,” State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said September 26, adding, “The EU is wrestling with these issues of expansion and at what pace to take the talks that they have ongoing with a variety of other countries.”
Those matters are up to the Europeans, of course, McCormack said, but the United States “certainly would encourage the EU to continue to keep open a European horizon for a number of states, including those in the Balkans and Turkey, as well.”
In May, the European Commission said Bulgaria and Romania could be ready for EU membership on January 1, 2007, “provided that they address a number of outstanding issues." About half those concerns have been addressed, and “based on the current momentum, it is reasonable to expect that the majority of the remaining issues will be resolved during the months to come,” according to the European Commission.
The commission outlined a number “accompanying measures” or safeguards that it will initiate upon the accession of Bulgaria and Romania. These measures include “a mechanism for cooperation and verification of progress in the area of judicial reform, fight against corruption and organized crime,” including specific benchmarks for each country. If those benchmarks are not met, certain EU funding for the two countries could be reduced, including financial assistance to resolve structural economic and social problems, as well as agricultural funding.
Bulgaria and Romania also will be subject to measures aimed at enhancing food safety in the two countries as well as protecting the EU’s financial interests, according to European Commission statements.
European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said September 26 that following the accession of Bulgaria and Romania, “I believe that an institutional settlement should precede any future enlargement. This is the way to ensure that our enlarged Union will function in an efficient and harmonious way.”
The addition of Bulgaria and Romania would bring EU membership to 27. It would follow the addition of 10 countries in 2004: Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, the Slovak Republic and Slovenia.
Bulgaria and Romania applied for membership in 1995 and accession talks began in 2000.
EC statements and speeches on the accession of Bulgaria and Romania are available on its Web site, on and conditions for EU membership are available on the EU Web site.
For more information on U.S. policy in Europe, see Europe and Eurasia.
(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
