MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION

12.6.2006

to wind up the debate on statements by the Council and Commission
pursuant to Rule 103(2) of the Rules of Procedure
by Daniel Marc Cohn-Bendit, Joost Lagendijk, Milan Horáček and Elly de Groen-Kouwenhoven
on behalf of the Verts/ALE Group
on the preparation of the European Council of 15-16 June 2006

B6‑0344/06

European Parliament resolution on the preparation of the European Council of 15-16 June 2006

The European Parliament,

–  having regard to the Presidency Conclusions of the Brussels European Council of 16-17 December 2004,

–  having regard to its resolutions and reports since the beginning of the accession negotiations and its recommendations on the applications by Bulgaria and Romania to become members of the European Union,

–  having regard to the Treaty of Accession of the Republic of Bulgaria and Romania to the European Union, signed on 25 April 2005,

–  having regard to the Commission’s Comprehensive Monitoring report on Bulgaria and Romania of May 2006,

–  having regard to Rule 103(2) of its Rules of Procedure,

A.  whereas the accession of Bulgaria and Romania will complete the fifth enlargement of the European Union, which started in May 2004 with the accession of ten new Member States,

B.  whereas the conditions for the accession of Bulgaria and Romania were agreed in the Accession Treaty signed on 25 April 2005 between the 25 Member States and the two countries after the European Parliament had given its assent to that Accession Treaty,

C.  whereas that Treaty provides that Bulgaria and Romania will join on 1 January 2007 unless the Council decides, on a recommendation from the Commission, to postpone the accession of those countries until 2008; recalling, in this regard, the exchange of letters between the President of the European Parliament and the President of the European Commission on the full association of Parliament in any decision to postpone accession,

D.  whereas the Accession Treaty has not yet been ratified by all the EU Member States, and whereas the ratification process must be completed in advance of the accession of Bulgaria and Romania,

E.  whereas the Commission’s Comprehensive Monitoring report of May 2006 gives a contrasting picture of the state of readiness of the two countries, recognising the progress made in the remaining areas of concern since October 2005, while still insisting on the need to continue to achieve tangible results in these areas before accession,

F.  whereas in Romania significant steps have been taken in the reform of the judiciary, and solid structures have been set up to fight corruption; recognising, in this regard, that over the past year an unprecedented number of cases of high-level corruption, some involving high-ranking politicians of various political tendencies, have been brought to justice,

G.  whereas in Bulgaria the measures undertaken to reform the judiciary and in the fight against corruption need to be further reinforced and to demonstrate clear evidence of results; recognising, however, that these measures have allowed investigations into high‑level corruption cases and the lifting of the immunity of six members of parliament,

1.  Calls on the Council to take due account of the Commission’s May 2006 Monitoring Report on Bulgaria and Romania and its decision to continue to monitor the progress made by these countries until October 2006 before deciding on the accession date of the two countries;

2.  Takes the view that the accession date for the two countries should be determined on the basis of the Commission’s Monitoring Report of this autumn, after a rigorous analysis of the state of readiness of the countries in key areas;

3.  Reminds the Council that the Commission should take account of the views of the European Parliament before issuing its final recommendation on the accession date for Bulgaria and Romania, in order to associate Parliament fully in any possible decision to postpone accession;

4.  Considers, on the basis of the regular assessments made by the Commission, that the prospect of accession has been a powerful force driving reforms in both countries, and stresses, in this regard, that Romania has made substantial progress in areas of paramount importance such as the fight against corruption and the strengthening of the independence of the judiciary;

5.  Emphasises the need for both countries to continue to consolidate the ongoing justice reform by further enhancing the transparency, efficiency and impartiality of the judiciary, as well as to demonstrate further results in the fight against corruption, with special emphasis on the fight against organised crime and clarification of contract killings; stresses the supreme importance of taking all necessary measures to fight trafficking in human beings and seriously to improve the social inclusion of Roma communities, especially as regards housing, health care, education and unemployment;

6.  Calls, in particular, on the Commission to monitor closely the necessary action to be taken by Bulgaria in the area of nuclear energy with regard to the closure and subsequent decommissioning of the reactors of the Kozloduy nuclear power plant;

7.  Welcomes the start of opening the archives of the former totalitarian secret services in Bulgaria and Romania for public examination;

8.  Underlines the importance for the future of the EU enlargement process of scrupulously basing the progress of candidate and accession countries on the ‘own merit’ approach;

9.  Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council and the Commission.