Rehn urges Bulgaria to show results in fight against organised crime, corruption

14/04/2006

Citing "serious concerns" about the rule of law in Bulgaria, EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn urged the country to step up its efforts Thursday.

(AFP, AP, BBC, Euronews, RFE/RL, Reporter.gr, Makfax, Sofia News Agency, Sofia Echo, Mediapool, Dnevnik.bg, Vseki Den - 13/04/06)

"Bulgaria must soon show tangible results against graft and crime if it is to join the European Union next year as planned," said EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn. [EU]

Bulgaria must show tangible results in its fight against organised crime and corruption to enter the EU in January 2007, the Union's top enlargement official said on Thursday (13 April). "There are still serious concerns as regards the rule of law and its functioning in the country," EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn said at a press conference in Sofia after meeting with Prime Minister Sergey Stanishev. "We need concrete, tangible results in fighting high-level corruption and organised crime to show that nobody is above the law."

Rehn's brief visit Thursday came ahead of a crunch European Commission (EC) report on Bulgaria's readiness for EU membership, due to be released on 16 May. The assessment will also include the EC's recommendation on whether the Balkan country should join the Union on 1 January 2007, as planned, or have its entry delayed by one year. The leaders of the 25-nation bloc are then expected to take a final decision at a June summit in Brussels.

Refusing to discuss Bulgaria's preparedness for membership, Rehn promised that the EC's report would be objective and impartial. He noted Bulgaria's progress in several problem areas, including intellectual property rights, agriculture, internal market and border control, and praised the country for its "robust economic growth".

At the same time, he stressed the need for "reform in the judiciary, where we need accountability and independence".

Last month, parliament amended the country's constitution to improve the functioning of the judiciary, but experts in Brussels have criticised some of the new provisions as compromising the independence of the system. In response to Rehn's call for further changes to Bulgaria's basic law, Sofia said it would be unable to do this before 16 May.

On Thursday, the commissioner said the 1 January 2007 target remains achievable, though he declined to make any predictions. To reach the goal, the country should put all its energy into meeting the EU requirements in the area of the rule of law, he said.

"The date of Bulgaria's accession to the EU is important but the fulfilment of the membership criteria is more important -- both for Bulgaria and for the European Commission," Rehn said. "It is now the key task for all the government, all the parliament, all the public administration and all the civil society to achieve this."

Stanishev pledged that Sofia would remain focused on the implementation of the EU-required reforms.

"Bulgaria's aim to join (the EU) as of January 2007 is fully achievable if we maintain the same speed and effort of reforms," the AP quoted him as saying. "These efforts will not stop even for a moment."

Observers in Sofia say the country will most likely be allowed to join the EU on 1 January, together with Romania, but that a safeguard clause restricting its membership rights in the area of justice and home affairs could be imposed. In that case, Bulgarian court rulings would not apply automatically in other EU member states.