P6_TA(2005)0117

Bulgaria's application to become a member of the Union

European Parliament resolution on the application by the Republic of Bulgaria to become a member of the European Union (2005/2029(INI))

The European Parliament,

- having regard to the application for accession to the European Union submitted by the Republic of Bulgaria on 14 December 1995,

- having regard to the Commission's opinion of 1997 on the Republic of Bulgaria's application to become a member of the European Union,

- having regard to the Commission's Regular Reports on the Republic of Bulgaria's progress towards accession covering the years from 1998 to 2004 and its Strategy Paper on progress in the enlargement process (COM(2004)0657 — C6-0150/2004),

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

- having regard to all its resolutions and reports since the beginning of the accession negotiations to date,

- having regard to the Commission Opinion of 22 February 2005 on the applications for accession to the European Union of the Republic of Bulgaria and Romania (COM(2005)0055),

- having regard to the draft treaty on accession of the Republic of Bulgaria and Romania to the European Union,

- 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 Agricultural and Rural Development (A6-0078/2005),

A. whereas Bulgaria applied to join the European Union on 14 December 1995, was formally recognised as a candidate on 16 July 1997, opened negotiations on 15 February 2000 and successfully concluded its accession negotiations on 14 December 2004,

B. whereas our common objective is that Bulgaria should satisfactorily complete its preparations with a view to signature of the Accession Treaty on 25 April 2005 and accession on 1 January 2007,

C. whereas Bulgaria continues to fulfil the political criteria and is expected to be able to comply with all the requirements for membership within the envisaged timeframe,

D. whereas the European Parliament has consistently advocated that the accession of Bulgaria should depend exclusively on its own merits and should not be linked to the candidacy of any other country,

1. Welcomes the decision of the European Council of 17 December 2004 successfully to conclude negotiations with Bulgaria, after many years of negotiation and preparation for accession, thereby ensuring that Bulgaria is well on course to become a member of the EU on 1 January 2007;

2. Shares the Council's conclusion that Bulgaria will be able to assume all the obligations of membership, and to that end encourages Bulgaria to continue to make progress in a successful and timely way with all necessary reforms in response to shortcomings identified by the Commission in its latest Regular Report and referred to in Parliament's recent Resolutions, thereby removing any possibility that "safeguard clauses" might be invoked;

3. Notes that the excellent progress so far has been possible thanks to the steady political resolve of successive Bulgarian governments, and the confidence and resilience of the Bulgarian people in pursuing and accepting the necessary changes;

4. Welcomes the many legislative and constitutional changes that Bulgaria has undertaken over recent years and emphasises the need for practical implementation of reforms so that their benefits are more widely felt;

5. Recognises Bulgaria's contribution to the stability of the wider south-east European region and the continuing role that she can play in helping to promote regional security and prosperity;

Political criteria

6. Notes the stability of democratic institutions in Bulgaria, the fresh commitment of political parties to effective political coalitions, and the adoption on 18 February 2005 by consensus of the amendments to the Constitution, as well as the adoption of the new Political Parties Act in December 2004;

7. Expects the Commission to report to Parliament at regular intervals on the progress made in implementing Bulgaria's commitments, and expects Parliament's opinion to be taken into account in the event that the safeguard clause is considered to be invoked;

8. Recognises that reform of the judiciary will be a key factor in Bulgaria's readiness for accession and in establishing real confidence in national institutions and processes, with significant knock-on effects in other areas as well as on Bulgaria's relations with other countries; therefore applauds the critical steps Bulgaria has taken, such as recently adopted legislative, administrative and organisational measures, especially the Law on Mediation, the National Concept for Reform of Criminal Proceedings and the Joint Declaration on Cooperation in Reforming Criminal Justice;

9. Calls for concerns about the pre-trial phase of the judicial process and the role of the Public Prosecutor to be further addressed to ensure the transparent, accountable and efficient running of the investigation service and the public prosecutions office, and establishment of a reliable mechanism for the dismissal of corrupt or incompetent judges, prosecutors and investigators; regrets in this regard that the planned reform of the penal judicature, which provides for the development of entirely new codes of penal procedure, is not scheduled for adoption by the current parliament due to the failure to secure a sufficient majority; therefore urges the Bulgarian parliament to continue its promising efforts in this area;

10. Calls for continued tangible improvement to be made in reforming the police so as to enable them to deal effectively with organised crime, people trafficking and corruption, while recognising progress already made by the Interior Ministry in combating high level crime, as acknowledged by Europol, and welcomes in particular the adoption of the Law on Forfeiture of Criminal Assets in February 2005; urges the Bulgarian authorities to enforce even more robust measures against money laundering and related abuse of financial institutions;

11. Congratulates Bulgaria on hosting the launch of the "Decade of Roma Inclusion" on 2 February 2005 and recognises the Bulgarian commitment to the integration of Roma through adoption of comprehensive anti-discrimination legislation; notes with satisfaction the development of a national programme aimed at improving housing conditions in urban areas overwhelmingly inhabited by Roma and other ethnic minorities, but urges more effective implementation of practical and substantive measures, in particular in regard to tackling educational disadvantages and the high rates of unemployment within the Roma community; notes the need for infrastructure interventions to upgrade and improve living conditions as part of an adequately resourced regeneration strategy, and for attention to be paid to the provision of health care and public and social services without discrimination; stresses that the successful integration of the Roma community is dependent on ensuring that Roma are given the chance to be actively involved in the design and implementation of strategies and programmes that aim to achieve these goals;

12. Welcomes the adoption in June 2004 of a strategy on the education of school children from minority communities but notes that segregated education remains reality for many Roma children, denying them access to quality education; calls upon the Bulgarian authorities to ensure that policy commitments to end educational disadvantage and segregation are implemented and backed up with financial support in order to support the linguistic and cultural identity of national minorities;

13. Calls on the Commission significantly to improve its programmes relating to Roma, noting that, according to the December 2004 EMS "Review of EU PHARE Assistance to Roma Minorities", management of programmes has been bedevilled by staff shortages and changes and poor administrative and absorption capacity, unemployment issues have been largely unaddressed and insufficient resources have been allocated to health projects and the provision of health information;

14. Welcomes the adoption of the National Strategy and Action Plan for protection of the rights of street children and now demands its full implementation, supported by adequate financial and human resources to bring about practical and visible improvements in child welfare and the living conditions of this most vulnerable section of society;

15. Notes with regard to the situation of children in institutions that there needs to be considerably more progress in Bulgaria's de-institutionalisation plan; therefore urges Bulgaria to intensify its efforts in this area, and reiterates its call for a single, well funded and resourced government agency to ensure that the child welfare reforms are effectively implemented; calls for greater Commission assistance to be targeted in this area;

16. Calls on Bulgaria to pay special attention to the situation of persons placed by public authorities in homes for adults with mental disorders; stresses, in this regard, the urgent need to provide appropriate care for residents, especially as regards material and human resources;

Economic criteria

17. Commends Bulgaria's economic performance (one of the highest GDP growth rates among EU candidates and Member States) which is the result of substantial structural reforms; this must be further consolidated to enable Bulgaria to cope with competitive pressure and market forces within the Union in the long term;

18. Welcomes the Commission's verdict that Bulgaria has a sound financial structure and a healthy budget that could set an example to some Member States, and calls for improvements in internal audit and financial control systems;

19. Continues to insist that real economic progress will be measured by tangible benefits for Bulgarian citizens in terms of improvements in their standard of living; in this context, congratulates Bulgaria on the reduction in unemployment levels, expresses its satisfaction that this figure is predicted to fall further in 2005, and calls on Bulgaria to introduce greater flexibility into its labour market in order to accelerate growth in employment;

20. Welcomes the sustained contribution to the Bulgarian economy made by the strong expansion in industrial production since mid-2002;

21. Welcomes recent new laws on investment and business activity that have streamlined procedures for market entry and exit, while cautioning against excessive and overly complex regulations which are a barrier to growth;

22. Welcomes the enlargement of the private sector and the considerable progress made in the liberalisation of key industries, especially banking, telecommunications and air transport, with the proportion of employees in the private sector increasing from 46 % in 1999 to 64 % in 2004; in this context, therefore, expresses disappointment at the failure of the sale of Bulgartabac subsidiaries; welcomes the Government's plan to re-run the auction for Bulgartabac subsidiaries before its mandate ends; urges the Bulgarian Government to maintain the momentum of privatisation and to take steps to guarantee that procedures are transparent and fair;

"Acquis communautaire"

23. Encourages Bulgaria to continue to improve administrative capacity in areas such as public procurement, competition, justice and home affairs, in order to ensure effective implementation of the "acquis" and to deliver a fair and transparent public service to citizens and economic operators;

24. Emphasises that the capacity to ensure control over the future external border of the EU and to prevent human trafficking and smuggling remains an issue of the utmost importance for the citizens of European countries;

25. Insists that Bulgaria adopt the remaining pieces of legislation, particularly in the areas of the single market, company law, the environment and consumer protection; is concerned about the practices of illegal logging taking place on an extensive scale in Bulgaria; deplores the fact that almost half of the total amount of logged timber coming from Bulgaria stems from illegal harvesting operations and that the annual allowable cut is exceeded by 1,5 million cubic metres; therefore, emphasises the need to halt the illegal logging of timber taking place in Bulgaria;

26. Welcomes the progress made by Bulgaria in bringing the country's agricultural policy into line with current Community law; stresses, however, the importance of completing the preparation required for implementation of the Community "acquis", which calls not only for the creation of the necessary control and paying agencies but also for the staffing of those agencies with appropriately trained personnel;

27. Is concerned that rules on animal welfare, particularly concerning animal transport and slaughterhouses, still do not meet EU standards;

28. Underlines the importance of sufficient numbers and adequate equipment of border control posts for veterinary or phytosanitary checks;

29. Emphasises 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 Bulgarian government to make use of the Sapard funds to diversify production and support decentralised, high quality food production;

30. Notes the adoption of a long-envisaged Strategy for Development of Radio and Television in March 2005 and calls for further efforts to guarantee a fully independent media free from political influence and to take action to reduce the increasing number of libel cases brought against journalists;

31. Is concerned about the difficulties in enforcement of intellectual property rights, in particular as regards media piracy and infringement of copyright, which continues to affect the commercial interest and investment of both Bulgarian and foreign copyright industries; encourages the Bulgarian Government to develop and properly implement an effective regulatory regime to prevent these illegal practices;

32. Welcomes the recent legal provisions ending the discriminatory tariff system in the tourism sector; encourages Bulgarian authorities to eliminate remaining forms of discrimination and restrictions against EU citizens and economic operators, in particular regarding the right of establishment;

33. Congratulates Bulgaria on the steps taken to ensure a high level of nuclear safety at the Kozloduy Nuclear Power Plant; notes that the Council's Atomic Questions Group has delivered a most favourable report on that high level of nuclear safety and notes the significant contribution by Bulgaria to energy supply in the wider region; recognises that, in the course of accession negotiations with the EU, Bulgaria made considerable compromises with a significant impact on the future energy situation both nationally and in the region; expresses concern that a considerable decrease in the region's reserve generating capacities has now been forecast for 2010-2012; emphasises therefore the importance of new capacity construction for maintaining Bulgaria's favourable energy situation on a sustainable basis as well as guaranteeing the security of electricity supply in the region and achieving Kyoto Protocol targets; insists that the Commission must closely monitor developments and provide every assistance in this regard; and calls on the Council, as signatory to the Kozloduy plant closure agreement, to be cognisant of the consequent risk of blackouts in many countries in the region and, therefore, to be prepared to view the closure dates within that agreement more flexibly until new generation capacity can come on stream in Bulgaria, without in any way jeopardising safety requirements, which must take absolute priority;

34. Stresses the fact that, although SMEs in Bulgaria constitute the main vehicle for implementation of an industrial policy conducive to sustainable growth, innovation and creation of jobs, the coordination between the government and non-government bodies is lacking, an enterprise policy has yet to be formulated and administrative capacity is limited;

35. Welcomes the progress made in the field of communications, yet considers that two things need urgent action: first, the regulatory authority needs to be mandated to resolve commercial disputes and its independence needs to be enhanced and, second, the universal service needs to be further aligned to the "acquis communautaire" and must be effectively implemented;

36. Calls on the Commission significantly to improve the management, targeting and transparency of Community funding, noting that the Community programmes (PHARE, Sapard, ISPA and nuclear decommissioning) consisted of an allocation of EUR 495,7 million in 2004, EUR 399,5 million in 2005 and EUE 432,1 million in 2006, while it is expected that the post-accession financial package will provide some EUR 4,6 billion during the years 2007-2009;

37. Calls for the Bulgarian authorities to show transparency in relation to the EU financial assistance provided;

38. Urges, with a view to the implementation of the common fisheries policy in all areas, that the authorities and professionals in the sector should be helped to prepare for accession by means of the allocation of the requisite human and financial resources, and, in particular, through the implementation of the measures provided for under the Sapard programme;

39. Continues to express grave concern at the failure of the Libyan authorities to release the Bulgarian medical workers held in custody since 1999 as suspects in a criminal case and currently under sentence of death; calls on the Council and the Commission to remedy this situation;

40. Recalls that the accession of Bulgaria to the EU is not an end in itself but sees the process of economic, political and social reform as a good thing in its own right which should eventually lead to greater prosperity and quality of life for all Bulgarian citizens;

41. Calls on the Commission to set aside appropriate funding for information campaigns with a view to improving public understanding of the implications of the accession of Bulgaria (and Romania);

42. Gives its assent to the signature of the accession treaty in April 2005 and looks forward to welcoming the 18 Bulgarian Parliamentary Observers into its midst;

43. Insists that the views of the European Parliament should continue to be taken into account in monitoring the progress of reform in Bulgaria following signature of the accession treaty and before any consideration is given to invoking safeguard clauses and, to this end, therefore calls on the Commission to report in a timely and regular manner to Parliament on developments in Bulgaria;

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44. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission and the governments and parliaments of the Member States and the Republic of Bulgaria.

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