Bulgaria gains support from Spain for EU bid

Bulgaria gains support from Spain for EU bid


Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero pledged in a letter his country's full support for Bulgaria's membership in the European Union next year, the Bulgarian government press office announced Monday.
In the letter to his Bulgarian counterpart Sergei Stanishev, Zapatero said he was hopeful and supportive of Bulgaria's bid for EU membership, especially since the Balkan country was taking concrete measures to meet the 25-nation bloc's entry criteria, the office said.
Bulgaria and Romania, which are the next in line to join the bloc, possibly next January, were originally to be part of the expansion of the EU in 2004, but their entry was postponed due to the slower pace of reforms in their countries than required.
A report of the European Commission on 16 May said Bulgaria was the less prepared of the two, and urged the country to fight organized crime, introduce anti-fraud and anti-corruption laws, crack down on money laundering and complete agriculture reforms.
Zapatero believes Bulgaria's new efforts will succeed because the government and the main political parties are determined to meet the challenges.
The Spanish prime minister said he was convinced that Bulgaria would continue to enjoy the full support and assistance of Spain in the remaining decisive months, so that from 1 January 2007 both countries could join efforts in the establishment of a more efficient Union for the benefit of their citizens.
Bulgaria and Romania signed the Accession Treaty in April 2005. The Treaty included for the first time three provisions: a general economic safeguard clause, a specific internal market safeguard clause, and a specific justice and home affairs safeguard clause.
The provisions allow the Union to remedy difficulties encountered as a result of accession.
EU countries had said earlier at a summit that they still backed the bids by Romania and Bulgaria to join the bloc next year, but urged the two Balkan countries to speed up the essential reforms.
The EU is scheduled to finalize the timetable in October for the accession of Romania and Bulgaria, either next January or in 2008 depending on the progress of their reforms.

Source: Xinhua