Bulgaria
on course for 2007 EU accession
The European Commission (EC) report to be
issued in May this year would likely recommend Bulgaria's on-time accession to
the union. Both Bulgaria and Romania would be asked to continue the reform process
in all problematic spheres.
This is the opinion of high-level EU sources,
presented in the German daily Die Velt. In case Bulgaria and Romania slow down
the reform process, the amount of EU funds the two countries will receive will
likely go down.
Today European enlargement commissioner Olli
Rehn will give his preliminary evaluation of the two countries' readiness to
join the EU. Rehn would also make a recommendation concerning the accession
date, the Bulgarian National Radio reported.
Bulgaria's reform progress in the five
critical areas will aid the country's on-time membership, European Integration
Minister Meglena Kuneva said. Yesterday Kuneva accepted the monitoring report
of Open Society Institute.
The risk for the introduction of safeguard clauses
for the justice and home affairs and agriculture sectors is still high, the
report states. In its 2005 report the European Commission designated five
reform areas as critical, BG news agency reported.
Bulgaria received a recommendation to speed up
reforms in these spheres to achieve on-time membership.
Company regulations, free access to goods and
services, agriculture, regional policies and justice and home affairs feature
among the critical areas.