Bulgaria and Romania to join EU in 2007 under tough terms

STRASBOURG - Bulgaria and Romania have received the green light to join the European Union in January, rather than a year later, but under the toughest terms imposed on any new entrants.

Recommending what could be the EU's last expansion for years, the European Commission listed urgent reforms the Balkan duo must still complete to avoid being deprived at the outset of full membership benefits, including some of their huge EU aid.

"Accession of Bulgaria and Romania will mark a historic achievement ... which further pursues the reunification of our European family," European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso told the European Parliament.

EU leaders are to approve the recommendation in October. France, Germany, Denmark and Belgium have yet to ratify the accession treaty, but this is unlikely to be a hurdle.

It will be the EU's second wave of enlargement into ex-communist eastern Europe, expanding the bloc to 27 members and locking the Black Sea neighbours into the zone of stability and prosperity and promising a boost to their fast-growing economies.

"This is the genuine and final fall of the Berlin Wall for Bulgaria," said Bulgarian Prime Minister Sergey Stanishev, referring to the 1989 defeat of communism in eastern Europe.

Romanian Prime Minister Calin Tariceanu vowed his country would work full steam ahead on reforms. "Romanians have a reason to be proud of themselves," he said.

The tough entry conditions reflected concern about the countries' shortcomings, including corruption, organised crime and food safety standards, and doubts over their ability to administer billions of euros in EU aid properly.

Bulgaria and Romania may also face curbs on labour migration, not least because their economic output per capita is around one-third of the EU average.

Britain, which opened its labour markets fully for workers from the 10 countries that entered the EU in 2004, said job seekers from Bulgaria and Romania would get only gradual access.

"The approach to labour market access for the two new member states will be gradual," Prime Minister Tony Blair's office said in a statement sure to disappoint Sofia and Bucharest, which argued their workers would not flood Western Europe.

The possible sanctions, which may be applied up to three years after the countries' accession, are meant to reassure the growing number of enlargement's critics who fear addition of poor countries will undermine Western Europe's social model.

Barroso repeated on Tuesday that once Romania and Bulgaria joined the EU, the bloc should not enlarge further until it has reformed its creaking institutions.

But Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn sought to reassure candidates Croatia and Turkey as well as more distant membership hopefuls from the Western Balkans that the EU would not halt the enlargement process.

"Enlargement fatigue" helped sink the EU constitution in French and Dutch referendums last year, robbing the bloc of a framework for further expansion.

"We expect that the member states will be able to agree on a new institutional settlement in 2008, hence the new institutional settlement should have been born by the time the next member is ready to join," Rehn said, adding that Croatia should be ready to join by the end of the decade.

The Commission said it may freeze payments to Bulgaria and Romania unless they complete mechanisms to allocate billions of euros in farm subsidies and regional aid.

Bulgaria will be required to amend its constitution to remove ambiguity about the independence and accountability of the judicial system. Romania must strengthen its top court and establish an agency to verify the assets of senior officials.

- REUTERS