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 Geoffrey Van Orden, Elmar Brok, José Ignacio Salafranca Sánchez-Neyra and Francisco José Millán Mon
on behalf of the PPE-DE Group
on the accession of Bulgaria and Romania

B6‑0346/2006

European Parliament resolution on the accession of Bulgaria and Romania

The European Parliament,

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

A.  whereas it is the common and declared objective of the EU for the accession of Bulgaria and Romania to take place on 1 January 2007, provided that they have taken the necessary steps to overcome the remaining issues of serious concern,

B.  whereas the final decision of Member States on the definitive accession of Bulgaria and Romania will therefore be taken this autumn, probably during the European Council in October, just a few weeks before the 2007 deadline, on the basis of the publication of the last Commission report, also in the autumn,

C.

whereas the accession of Bulgaria and Romania will complete the previous round of EU

enlargement,

D.  whereas the European Parliament has consistently expressed its support for the timely accession of Bulgaria and Romania,

E.  whereas there are provisions in the Accession Treaty for safeguard and monitoring measures which may, if necessary, be applied in the years immediately after accession, obviating any delay in actual accession,

F.

whereas agreement was reached through an exchange of letters between the President of the

European Parliament and the President of the Commission on the full involvement of the

European Parliament in any consideration of activation of safeguard clauses in the Accession Treaty,

BULGARIA

1.  Welcomes the Commission's confirmation, in its Monitoring Report of 16 May, of Bulgaria's readiness for accession to the EU on 1 January 2007, provided that it addresses a number of outstanding issues, foremost among which is the need to demonstrate clearer evidence of results in the fight against organised crime and corruption;

2.  Calls on the European Council, at its meeting on 15-16 June, to confirm Bulgaria's entry into the EU on 1 January 2007 if the country is ready; at the same time welcomes the specialist assistance that has been provided by Member States, particularly in the field of justice and policing, and urges reinforcement of this assistance in the coming months;

3.  Recognises the considerable progress that has been achieved by the Bulgarian authorities in addressing the areas identified by the EU as matters of 'serious concern', reducing them from 16 to 6 since October 2005; welcomes the adoption on 8 June by the Bulgarian Government of a thematic Action Plan with specific deadlines; in the coming months therefore urges Bulgaria to produce concrete and visible results that will demonstrate its wholehearted determination to overcome remaining areas of concern in the full knowledge that the reform process is beneficial in its own right, not just as a prerequisite for EU membership but in order to provide a better life for the people of Bulgaria;

4.  Calls on the Commission, as a matter of urgency, to provide Bulgaria with the clearest possible guidance on the outcomes that are expected in order to meet its concerns, to ensure that the maximum Community resources are targeted on these areas in order to help produce tangible improvements, and, in cooperation with the Bulgarian authorities, to define the nature of and procedures for any possible post-accession monitoring measures and the circumstances under which they might be necessary;

5.  Calls also for steps to be taken to guarantee that effective and transparent financial management and control structures for EU funds are in place in Bulgaria;

ROMANIA

6.  Welcomes the major progress which Romania has made in certain required fields, as recognised in the Commission report of 16 May 2006; stresses particularly the progress made in such vital areas as fighting corruption and reforming the judicial system, and welcomes the fact that the Romanian Government has adopted an emergency action plan to overcome the deficits identified by the Commission in its progress report of 16 May;

7.  Urges the Romanian Authorities to tackle in particular various problems which are described in the Commission report as very worrying, for example certain sectors such as agriculture and veterinary legislation, and certain fiscal shortcomings; recalls that there are also other major fields in which, according to the Commission, the Romanian authorities should continue their efforts in order to be completely ready for accession;

8.  Expresses its confidence, in view of the rate of progress which the Romanian authorities have achieved recently and its firm agreement to the country's accession, that the Commission will assess the results of these efforts positively in its next report, and reiterates its desire for Romania to accede to the European Union as scheduled on 1 January 2007; calls on the European Council to confirm this date;

9.  Recalls that, to date, 17 Member States have ratified the Accession Treaty; accordingly, calls on those national parliaments which have not yet ratified the Accession Treaty to speed up the necessary formalities so as to avoid jeopardising the common target date of January 2007;

10.  Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Government and National Assembly of Bulgaria and the Government and National Assembly of Romania.