Posted on 09/26/2006 12:45:09 AM PDT by Republicain
The European Commission is due to announce the timetable it will adopt for admitting Romania and Bulgaria to the European Union. It is expected that Bucharest and Sofia will be told they can join on 1 January 2007 - but under strict conditions.
They will be checked for progress in curbing organised crime, controlling animal disease and instituting procedures for administering farm aid.
The conditions are tougher than imposed on previous new members, observers say.
The BBC's Oana Lungescu in Strasbourg says they are intended both as a reassurance for EU citizens, only half of whom support further enlargement, and as a warning to Turkey and the Balkan nations still lobbying for EU membership.
The president of the commission, Jose Manuel Barroso, has said the EU cannot go on with further expansion until it decides what to do about its stalled constitution.
Concerns remain
The commission's report, seen by the BBC, should finally confirm that after seven years of talks, Bulgaria and Romania are able to take on the rights and obligations of EU membership next January.
The two countries missed out on the EU's big eastward expansion in 2004.
In an announcement to be made in the European Parliament, the 2007 date is expected to be chosen instead of a 2008 alternative.
Correspondents say the two countries will be delighted that they can get in on schedule before Mr Barroso puts a block on further expansion.
But concerns remain, mainly about Bulgaria.
Unless it cracks down on organised crime, legal decisions taken by its courts could be disregarded in the rest of Europe.
Both countries will have to report every six months on progress in fighting corruption.
By March, they also need to set up agencies to handle millions of euros worth of EU farm aid, or risk losing a quarter of the cash.
Both will face food export bans due to outbreaks of animal diseases like swine fever, while Bulgarian planes could be banned from flying into EU airspace until the country improves its air safety standards.
Streamlining needed
An EU official said the commission did not want to punish Bulgaria and Romania, but to make them work harder to carry out reforms.
Mr Barroso says the EU needs reforms to streamline its decision-making process.
The rules of the European club can currently cope to 27 members at most, though experts say they could be tinkered with to squeeze Croatia in before a major treaty change.
"It would be unwise to bring in other member states apart from Romania and Bulgaria," he said on Monday.
"There are some limits to our absorption capacity."
What's your opinion on this? Too much to digest at the time, or a way too bump the EU's economy?
Balkans ping (is Romania Balkan?).
Answer: Too much to digest!
But, hey, who cares. As long as the eurocrats get their 3 hour lunch breaks and all the other perks. /sarcasm
They won't develope if they are not integrated into the economics of the rest of europe.
I don't want to have more economic problems in front of our door - so we got to help these guys up and so they can contribute to our common future without losing their identity.
Will scania be bought by MAN ?
Don't know. The owners seems to have declined the initial offer.
Obviously Scania is up for grabs evver since the EU commission stopped an all Swedish merger between Scania and Volvo on the trumped up pretence that the new company would have a monopoly position in.....Sweden!
In actual fact this was a move to protect certain German and Italian lorry producers. But then EU an its forerunners was always a protectionistic organisaion and never a free trade area.
But Volvo is now part of Ford as Saab is Part of GM.... that somehow doesn't speak the language of european protectionism.
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