European Parliament resolution on Romania's application for membership of the European Union and the state of the negotiations (COM(1999) 510 — C5-0033/2000 — 1997/2172(COS))
Date: 2000-10-04
Institutions: Committee on Foreign Affairs, European Parliament
Subjects: EU relations, Romania, accession criteria, accession negotiations, accession to the European Union, economic situation, political situation

C 178/152

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

22.6.2001

Wednesday 4 October 2000

10. Romania

A5-0247/2000

European Parliament resolution on Romania’s application for membership of the European Union
and the state of the negotiations (COM(1999) 510 ( C5-0033/2000 ( 1997/2172(COS))

The European Parliament,

(cid:1) having regard to Romania’s application for membership of the European Union, submitted on 22 June

1995 pursuant to Article 49 of the Treaty on European Union,

(cid:1) having regard to the opinion of the Commission on this application (COM(1997) 2003 (cid:1) C4-0375/

1997),

(cid:1) having regard to the first regular report from the Commission, issued on 4 November 1998, on
Romania’s progress towards accession (COM(1998) 702) and Parliament’s resolution of 3 December
1998 on the same subject (1),

(cid:1) having regard to the second regular report from the Commission, issued on 13 October 1999, on

Romania’s progress towards accession (COM(1999) 510 (cid:1) C5-0033/2000),

(cid:1) having regard to the decisions of the Copenhagen (21-22 June 1993), Luxembourg (12/13 December

1997), and Helsinki (10/11 December 1999) European Councils,

(cid:1) having regard to the Accession Partnership with Romania, endorsed by the Council on 6 December

1999 (2),

(cid:1) having regard to the accession negotiations with Romania, which opened on 15 February 2000,

(cid:1) having regard to Rule 47 (1) of its Rules of Procedure,

(cid:1) having regard to the report of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Human Rights, Common Security

and Defence Policy (A5-0247/2000),

A. welcoming the new approach laid down at the Helsinki European Council whereby all Central and
Eastern European countries are to be placed on an equal footing where accession is concerned and
each country will be judged according to its ability to meet the Copenhagen criteria,

B. whereas that approach aims to encourage candidate countries to strive as swiftly as possible towards
full accession, and whereas it is hoped that it will provide further incentives to the populations of
accession countries to take the often difficult steps towards necessary reforms,

C. whereas, despite the efforts undertaken since its return to democracy, Romania still faces challenges in
meeting some of the Copenhagen economic criteria, made more difficult also by internal political
problems,

D. whereas many of the challenges facing Romania are part of the legacy of the Ceausescu dictatorship,

which has left social and political scars,

E. whereas political problems such as that of corruption have economic implications, particularly by

posing an obstacle to foreign investment,

F. whereas, although there have been improvements, the problem of children in institutions continues to
be a great cause for concern and a human rights problem which affects the accession procedure,

1. Welcomes, following the decisions of the Helsinki European Council, the opening of the accession
negotiations with Romania; stresses, however, that Romania still has to make a major effort, with EU
support, to incorporate the acquis communautaire;

(1) OJ C 398, 21.12.1998, p. 50.
(2) See Council Decision 1999/852/EC of 6 December 1999 (OJ L 335, 28.12.1999, p. 15).

22.6.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 178/153

Wednesday 4 October 2000

2.
Notes that, in overall terms, Romania meets the Copenhagen political criteria and that it has taken
the necessary measures to ensure that the situation of its minorities, especially the Hungarian and German
minorities, is in conformity with the Council of Europe’s rules;

3. Welcomes the attempts of the Romanian Government to abolish repressive legislation regarding sex-
ual minorities, and stresses to Romanian legislators that basic human rights will at no point be open to
negotiation;

4.
Considers that there is still room for improvement in the situation of the Roma and Sinti, while
recognising that this problem calls for a common approach under Council of Europe auspices; urges the
Romanian authorities to elaborate a national strategy for the social integration of the Roma and to closely
involve the Roma communities and local authorities in policy-making processes;

5.
Notes with concern the environmental situation in many parts of Romania, which poses a direct
threat to public health; notes with satisfaction signs of cooperation between Romania and Hungary for
the protection of common waters; calls upon the Romanian authorities to apply the strictest environmen-
tal requirements in Europe when considering the reopening of the Baia Mare and similar plants;

6. Welcomes the major progress achieved in respect of freedom of the press but is still concerned about
the allegations that part of the press continues to be subject to harassment and intimidation by the autho-
rities; requests the Commission to monitor closely the situation in this area;

7.
Points to the stabilising and constructive role which Romania played during the Kosovo conflict and
which it will also play in the future in south-east Europe, believing that Romania’s accession would rein-
force the CFSP and the ESDP;

8.
Believes that the efforts made by Romania in implementing the embargo on Yugoslavia with its
associated severe economic repercussions should be duly taken into account in the evaluation of its pro-
gress towards accession; stresses that in strengthening border controls in the framework of the accession
preparations, due consideration should be shown for regional trade relations and the need to develop
regional cooperation and cross-border projects in the framework of the Stability Pact, including regional
cooperation with Ukraine and Moldova;

9. Welcomes the agreement between Romania and Bulgaria on the construction of a new bridge on the
Danube; urges the Commission to give the necessary support to restore navigability of the Danube in
order to repair the war damage and counteract the economic repercussions of the embargo on Yugoslavia
suffered by Romania;

10.
Notes that the economic situation is still giving cause for concern, although certain signs of eco-
nomic recovery which are now appearing give hope for the future; therefore urges the Romanian autho-
rities, with the support of the major political forces, to implement resolutely the Action Plan for the
achievement of the goals of the Medium-Term Economic Strategy, endorsed by the Commission and the
international financial institutions, in order to achieve macro-economic stabilisation and accelerate the
pace of privatisation of state-owned enterprises;

Underlines the fact that without vigorous implementation of the Action Plan and the Medium-Term

11.
Economic Strategy, it will be very difficult for Romania to satisfy the Copenhagen economic criteria;

Calls for removal of the structural obstacles to the modernisation of the agricultural sector, which

12.
has major potential for the economic development of Romania;

13.
Encourages the Romanian authorities to put into place the administrative structures which are
needed for using fully the Sapard programme and regrets the lack of personnel for dealing with land
registration; stresses also that the lack of clear legislation hampers the development of agriculture and
economic development in general;

14.
Underlines that the restructuring of the agricultural sector and rural development measures must
focus on the multiple functions of rural economies and encourage diversification of income in rural areas
by appropriate use of local resources and specificities, and that support for agricultural production must
integrate aspects of environmental protection, biodiversity and food quality;

C 178/154

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

22.6.2001

Wednesday 4 October 2000

15.
Regrets the slow pace of the reform of public administration, which represents an obstacle to the
integration of the acquis communautaire, and therefore urges the Romanian authorities to step up the pace
of that reform;

16.
Asks also the Romanian authorities to remove the remaining obstacles to the adoption of the acquis
communautaire, especially as regards protecting the environment, combating corruption and crime, and
strengthening border checks;

Notes that, despite numerous government initiatives, much remains to be done to overcome the

17.
corruption which is undermining the political and administrative structures of Romania;

18.

Calls for swift adoption of the package of reform of the judiciary and of the penal code;

19.
Notes the Romanian authorities’ declared intention to reach a rapid solution to the problem of
children in institutions, by facilitating their return to a family environment; confirms that accession to
the European Union requires a fundamental change in current practice going much further than the efforts
which have been made in that area to enable Romania fully to comply with the international conventions
on children’s rights which it has signed and by which it is bound;

20.
Recalls that a High Level Group on children’s welfare has been created with the backing of the
Romanian Prime Minister, the Commission, the World Bank, the WHO and Unicef in order to speed up
the efforts aimed at finding a lasting solution to this problem;

21.
Calls on the EU Institutions, in cooperation with the Romanian Government, to examine all the
possibilities for drawing up and co-funding joint programmes for the social rehabilitation and integration
of the children in institutions in order to secure a definite long-term solution to the problem;

22.
Urges the future Romanian Government, irrespective of its composition after the November 2000
elections, to continue the necessary reforms at a more intensive pace so as to enable Romania to join the
Union within a reasonable time, with the support of the Romanian people;

23.
Confirms its view that Romanian nationals should not be required to hold a visa in order to enter
the EU and reiterates its opinion as set out in its position of 5 July 2000 (1) on the proposal for a Council
regulation on listing the third countries whose nationals must be in possession of visas when crossing the
(COM(2000) 27 (cid:1)
external borders and those whose nationals are exempt
C5-0166/2000 (cid:1) 2000/0030(CNS)); calls on the Council to adopt the relevant regulation as soon as pos-
sible;

from that requirement

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission and Council, the parliaments of

24.
the Member States and the Government and Parliament of Romania.

(1)

‘Texts Adopted’, Item 12.

11. Slovenia

A5-0242/2000

European Parliament resolution on Slovenia’s application for membership of the European Union
and the state of negotiations (COM(1999) 512 ( C5-0035/2000 ( 1997/2181(COS))

The European Parliament,

(cid:1) having regard to Slovenia’s application for membership of the European Union, submitted on 10 June

1996 pursuant to Article 49 of the TEU,

(cid:1) having regard to the opinion of the Commission on this application (COM(1997) 2010 (cid:1) C4-0382/

1997),