Brussels: Romania 'fulfils' EU criteria

Romania will get the European Commission green light to EU entry for 2007, according to leaked documents.

Brussels will on Wednesday announce that despite problems Bucharest is expected to join the EU on-time, alongside Bulgaria.

“Bulgaria and Romania fulfil the political criteria,” states a leaked text seen by EUpolitix.com

“They will be ready for accession on January 1 2007.”

“[The commission] will make all the efforts to attain the objective… of successfully closing the negotiations with Bulgaria and Romania in 2004.”

Despite a failure to implement EU competition reforms, the commission’s progress report will accept Romania as a “functioning market economy”.

Leaked versions of the document pay tribute to “profound economic reforms” and “macroeconomic stability”. “Romania complies with the criterion of being a functioning market economy”.

Critics still have serious doubts over widespread corruption in Romania and the slow progress of legal reform.

The commission's report is set to acknowledge progress but will highlight "areas which still need sustained efforts".

"Mainly the reform of the public administration, the functioning of the judiciary and the fight against corruption," said a source.

“Romania has to continue the efforts towards strengthening the administrative and judicial capacity in order to implement [EU law].”

But the threat of delayed entry will still hang over Romania. A “safeguard clause” on Bucharest’s membership could set back entry until 2008 if Romania stalls on reform.

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