The European Parliament,

–   having regard to the application for accession to the European Union submitted by Romania on 22 June 1995,

–   having regard to the Commission's opinion of 1997 on the application for accession to the European Union submitted by Romania,

–   having regard to the Commission's regular reports on Romania's progress towards accession covering the period 1998-2004 and the Commission's Strategy Paper on progress in the enlargement process (COM(2004)0657 – C6-0150/2004),(1)

–   having regard to the conclusions of the Brussels European Council of 16 and 17 December 2004,

–   having regard to all the previous resolutions and reports since the beginning of the enlargement process,

–   having regard to the draft treaty for the accession to the European Union of Romania,

–   having regard to the exchange of letters between the President of the European Parliament and the President of the Commission on the full association of the European Parliament with any consideration of activation of one of the safeguard clauses in the Treaty of Accession,

–   having regard to Rule 45 of its Rules of Procedure,

–   having regard to the report of the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the opinion of the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development (A6-0077/2005),

A.   whereas our common objective is to make the best possible preparations for the accession of Romania to the Union,

B.   whereas the efforts to achieve this objective should lead to the political will of the authorities converging with the mobilisation of socio-economic players in Romania, with the strong support of Romanian society,

C.   whereas the scale of reforms implemented in Romania with a view to accession is remarkable given the tremendous backlog that had to be cleared in the economic, political and social spheres,

D.   whereas the tremendous effort that Romania has made during the transformation process deserves unqualified recognition; whereas the merit lies primarily with the population there who have endured an unprecedented 'kill-or-cure' process of political and economic reform with great patience,

E.   whereas the prospect of accession has acted as a catalyst for change, harnessing most of the country's political forces in support of a project that has become Romania's strategic goal,

F.   whereas the progress achieved by Romania made it possible to conclude the accession negotiations, but whereas the efforts to remedy the shortcomings identified in the Commission's 2004 progress report and in the European Parliament's most recent resolution of 16 December 2004(2) should be continued both before and after accession, notably in the area of justice and home affairs as regards combating corruption and organised crime and as regards border controls, in the area of competition as regards state aid and in the area of the environment as regards the implementation of legislation in all sectors and the alignment of horizontal legislation,

G.   whereas, if these efforts are made, Romania should be in a position to meet the commitments given during the negotiations and to assume the obligations arising from accession so as to become a member of the Union, in accordance with the envisaged timeframe, in 2007,

1.  Welcomes the decision of the European Council of 16 and 17 December 2004 to conclude the accession negotiations with Romania, bringing to a close four years of negotiations and several years of preparations that have significantly altered the country's socio-political, economic and cultural landscape by enabling it to initiate a momentum for change and progress;

2.  Stresses that the prospect of accession has been a powerful force driving the reforms and that the efforts made by Romania have helped to modernise and democratise the country but considers that this process is far from complete;

3.  Underlines the invaluable role played since 1990 by non-governmental organisations and other civil society actors in Romania in the process of democratisation, the fight against corruption, the protection of the freedom of the press and the drive for an independent judiciary;

4.  Notes with satisfaction that the process begun in 1997 to transform the economy and its structures has brought about a substantial improvement in economic performance and the establishment of a functioning market economy thanks to important structural changes; considers, however, that further consolidation of macroeconomic stability is required if Romania is to be able to cope with competitive pressure and market forces within the Union; calls on the Romanian authorities to continue their efforts to curb the budget deficit, if the country wants to meet its targets for inflation and for a reduction in the current-account deficit, and encourages them to press ahead with the process of privatisation and restructuring, particularly in the steel sector;

5.  Points out that, in order to meet the commitments given during the accession negotiations and to meet the accession criteria in such a way as to enable it to become a member of the Union in accordance with the envisaged timeframe, in 2007, Romania will have to do its utmost to tackle the shortcomings identified in the Commission's latest progress report and in the resolution adopted by the European Parliament on 16 December 2004;

6.  In this connection, emphasises, in particular:

7.  Notes also that, whilst the industrial policy of Romania is stable and to some extent predictable, its administrative capacity is deficient, hindering the application of proper industrial measures; equally urgent is the need to eliminate structural obstacles to investment, such as excessive bureaucracy and an unstable legislative environment; furthermore, ensuring an efficient strategy in respect of SMEs entails institution-building, which is a prerequisite needing to be acted upon;

8.  Considers that active security of energy supplies is also urgently needed, as the decommissioning of inefficient heating systems and dealing with non-viable coal mines remain key challenges, requiring social measures to face labour hardship;

9.  Welcomes the fact that the new Romanian government has made increased press freedom and media independence a key objective, and notes with satisfaction that the government has announced an end to selective state advertising, which was used to exert political control over the media, and the drafting of legislation with the assistance of media watchdogs in order to establish a transparent and accountable system;

10.  Notes the new Romanian Government's ambitious programme and welcomes its determination to speed up preparations for accession and to carry out further reforms with a view to improving the welfare and living standards of Romanian citizens;

11.  Welcomes positive developments in the education of Romanian, including Roma, children (in terms of schools, infrastructures and facilities) and urges the Romanian authorities to continue to prioritise this work, notably by improving the qualifications and remuneration of teachers;

12.  Notes that, despite the progress made in the fight against social exclusion and on social welfare legislation, efforts need to be stepped up to reduce poverty and to guarantee the country's economic and social cohesion, which remains very fragile;

13.  Welcomes the signature by Romania of the Declaration on the 'Decade of Roma Inclusion', and recognises Romania's commitment to the integration of Roma through the adoption of anti-discrimination legislation, but urges more effective implementation of measures to tackle educational segregation, misplacement of students in schools for the mentally disabled and early drop-outs, lack of access to health care, public and social services, high unemployment rates, and poor housing conditions, as well as measures seeking the active involvement of the Roma community in the achievement of these goals;

14.  Notes that, despite the general improvement in the protection of minorities, additional measures need to be taken to ensure the protection of the Hungarian minority in accordance with the principles of subsidiarity and self-governance;

15.  Supports the Commission in its meticulous scrutiny of Romania's progress in implementing the commitments given during the negotiations; considers such scrutiny to be a necessary and effective tool for identifying deficiencies and seeking to remedy them in the shortest possible time, mobilising every effort required in terms of both human and material resources; calls on the Commission to ensure that the aid granted through the various financial instruments (PHARE, SAPARD, ISPA) is as appropriate and effective as possible;

16.  Urges the Romanian authorities to enact clear and provident co-existence rules governing the deliberate release of GMO varieties, in order to prevent the provisions of the acquis communautaire relating to GMOs from being undermined at the date of accession;

17.  Underlines that the implementation of the new Community legislation on food hygiene is designed solely to protect consumers and to ensure the quality of food, and should not bring about a deliberate structural concentration in the food processing industry; encourages the Romanian government to make use of the SAPARD funds to diversify production and support decentralised, high quality food production;

18.  Hopes that, in order to enable the common fisheries policy to be applied in all areas, those who administer and those who work in the sector will be able to make the necessary preparations, thanks to the allocation of the requisite human and financial resources and, in particular, the pursuit of the initiatives provided for in the SAPARD programme;

19.  Emphasises the urgent need for Romania and the Commission, in the process of identifying priorities within the strategic framework for pre-accession funding and structural funds, to earmark the funds needed to ameliorate the living conditions and treatment of patients and residents in psychiatric wards and hospitals;

20.  Expresses its concern about the long transition periods agreed in the negotiations regarding the environment chapter and calls on the Commission and the Romanian authorities to take measures in order to substantially improve administrative capacity in the environmental field; further reiterates its concern over the planned gold-mining project in Rosia Montana and demands that full environmental impact assessments be conducted to assess the risks involved, notably as regards potential cyanide contamination and rehabilitation after closure;

21.  Will continue to follow closely the process which will lead to Romania's accession in January 2007 and calls on the Commission to keep it regularly informed of the extent to which the Romanian authorities honour the commitments given in the accession treaty, particularly as regards the fight against corruption, the environment, the field of justice and home affairs and competition; stresses that it approves the accession treaty on condition that the Council and the Commission fully involve it in the decision-making in the event that the safeguard clauses contained in the accession treaty were to be used in the context of Romania's accession;

22.  Points out that, if the safeguard clauses were to be invoked, such action should not be seen as a sanction, but rather as a mechanism intended to give Romania the time required to prepare for joining the internal market without shocks either for itself or for Community policies, since their proper functioning is in the common interest of the Member States and the applicant countries and has a direct impact on the lives of their citizens;

23.  Firmly believes that the accession of Romania to the European Union will add real value to the cultural and political dimensions of European integration, with particular regard to the efforts to stabilise the Balkan region and the new European Neighbourhood Policy;

24.  Notes that the success of accession depends to a large extent on the support and commitment of the acceding country's citizens; therefore encourages the Romanian authorities and non-governmental organisations to launch a wide-ranging, serious and objective campaign to provide information on the Union and its objectives and on the advantages and obligations arising from accession so that the Romanian people will be fully aware of their choice and as involved as possible in the preparations in progress; calls also on the Commission to provide appropriate funding for information campaigns to improve the public's knowledge relating to the accession of Romania (and Bulgaria);

25.  Stresses that Romania's accession to the European Union should not be seen as an end in itself but rather as an opportunity to contribute to the process of European integration, which seeks to promote peace and European values and to create an area of solidarity and prosperity by extending its advantages to all Member States and their inhabitants;

26.  Approves the signing of the accession treaty in April 2005 and welcomes the arrival of parliamentary observers from Romania;

27.  Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council and Commission and to the governments and parliaments of the Member States and of Romania.

(1) Not yet published in OJ. (2) 1 Texts adopted on this date, P6_TA(2004)0111.