EU enlargement chief urges European Parliament to nod Bulgaria's, Romania's EU accession

European Commissioner on Enlargement Olli Rehn in Strasbourg of France on Tuesday called on the members of the European Parliament to give their assent to Bulgaria's and Romania's accession into the European Union (EU).

"Tomorrow is a key date for the enlargement process as the European Parliament will vote on its assent to the accession of both countries scheduled for January 2007," said Rehn in addressing an EP plenary session.

"Accession Treaty with Bulgaria and Romania on 25 April. I do think that we have good reasons to believe that this is the right way to proceed," Rehn said.

On Feb. 22, the European Commission adopted a favorable opinion on the accession of Bulgaria and Romania. The EU assembly is expected to vote on the 5th round of the EU enlargement on Wednesday, if approved the EU will sign the accession treaty with the two countries.

However, it was reported that the EP was concerned about whether it has a say in postponing the accession if the two countries fail to honor their commitments.

To assure the EP members, the EU enlargement chief said both countries are under "close monitoring" by the EC, the EU member states and the EP.

"I want to reassure you that if the Commission judges, on the basis of its monitoring, that either Bulgaria or Romania are manifestly unprepared for membership, I will not hesitate to recommend the use of the remedial tools, including the clause allowing us to postpone accession by one year until 2008," he said.

Rehn noted that Bulgaria still needs to make solid efforts to reform the judiciary, fight against corruption and organized crime.

"Reform of the judiciary, in particular of the pre-trial phase, is the overarching priority until accession," he said.

As for Romania, more efforts should be made in reforms of the public administration and the judiciary, in the fight against corruption as well as in the fulfilment of the commitments taken in the field of competition and environment.

Source: Xinhua