European Parliament resolution on the application by Romania to become a member of the European Union (2005/2028(INI))
Date: 2005-04-13
Institutions: European Parliament
Subjects: European integration, Roma, Romania, accession criteria, accession to the European Union, administrative reform, economic and social cohesion, energy supply, environmental law, governance, local government, protection of minorities, regional government, security of supply, social integration, transitional period (EU)

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Official Journal of the European Union

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9.2.2006

Wednesday 13 April 2005

A. whereas the conditions for the admission of the applicant countries and the modifications which their
accession entails are set in the accession treaty and whereas Parliament should be consulted on any
substantial modifications to this treaty,

B. whereas the Council and the Commission must fully involve the European Parliament in the follow-up
to the process of accession of the Republic of Bulgaria, and in decision-making should the safeguard
clauses contained in the accession treaty be activated in connection with the accession of the Republic
of Bulgaria,

C. whereas this assent has been preceded by a joint agreement of the two arms of the budgetary authority
on the financial package to be included in the accession treaty and the adoption of a declaration on the
budgetary and institutional consequences thereof,

Gives its assent to the application by the Republic of Bulgaria to become a member of the European

1.
Union;

Instructs its President to forward its position to the Council and Commission, and the governments

2.
and parliaments of the Member States and the Republic of Bulgaria.

P6_TA(2005)0119

Romania's application to become a member of the European Union

European Parliament resolution on the application by Romania to become a member of the Euro-
pean Union (2005/2028(INI))

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 pro-

cess,

— 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 converg-
ing with the mobilisation of socio-economic players in Romania, with the strong support of Romanian
society,

(1) Not yet published in OJ.

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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,

Wednesday 13 April 2005

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 (1) 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 acces-
sion negotiations with Romania, bringing to a close four years of negotiations and several years of pre-
parations 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 func-
tioning market economy thanks to important structural changes; considers, however, that further consoli-
dation 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 Parlia-
ment on 16 December 2004;

6.

In this connection, emphasises, in particular:

— the effective implementation of administrative and judicial reforms so as to ensure that central govern-
ment and the judiciary support each other and function effectively, transparently and independently and
the need to further restrict reliance on emergency ordinances;

(1) Texts adopted on this date, P6_TA(2004)0111.

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Wednesday 13 April 2005

— the need to continue the fight against corruption, in particular against high-level corruption, which,
despite recent efforts, continues to undermine the country's socio-economic and political life by tar-
nishing Romania's image in the international community;

— the need to ensure control over the future external border of the Union and checks on migration flows

and the need to prevent human trafficking and smuggling;

— the need to guarantee total independence of the media and unimpeded freedom of expression;

— the strengthening of local and regional governance, with a view to ensuring proper implementation of
the ‘acquis’ at those levels, and promoting the concept of ‘good governance’ and an administrative
culture and encouraging respect for ethical principles in the management of public affairs;

— respect, recognition and support for minorities, in order to eradicate all forms of violence and discrimi-

nation against them;

— implementation of the child protection legislation which entered into force on 1 January 2005 and the
urgent need to find a solution to the problem of international adoption and improve substantially the
situation of sick and disabled people being treated in psychiatric hospitals;

— the correct and transparent application of the new law on state aid and rigorous control of state aid by
the Romanian Competition Council in accordance with the provisions of the Europe Agreement and
the commitments given by Romania in the negotiations;

— additional efforts to protect the environment, which will require appropriate investment and increased
vigilance as regards the risks of industrial pollution, the management of waste, waste-water treatment
and the management of chemical substances and genetically modified organisms;

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;

Considers that active security of energy supplies is also urgently needed, as the decommissioning of
8.
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, misplace-
ment of students in schools for the mentally disabled and early drop-outs, lack of access to health care,

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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;

Wednesday 13 April 2005

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

Supports the Commission in its meticulous scrutiny of Romania's progress in implementing the
15.
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 deliber-
ate 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;

Hopes that, in order to enable the common fisheries policy to be applied in all areas, those who
18.
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 hos-
pitals;

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 con-
cern 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 acces-
sion 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 Roman-
ia'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;

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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 organi-
sations 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 knowl-
edge relating to the accession of Romania (and Bulgaria);

Stresses that Romania's accession to the European Union should not be seen as an end in itself but
25.
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;

Approves the signing of the accession treaty in April 2005 and welcomes the arrival of parliament-

26.
ary observers from Romania;

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council and Commission and to the govern-

27.
ments and parliaments of the Member States and of Romania.

P6_TA(2005)0120

Romania's application for membership of the EU ***

European Parliament legislative resolution on the application by Romania to become a member of
the European Union (AA1/2/2005 — C6-0086/2005 — 2005/0902(AVC))

(Assent procedure)

The European Parliament,

— having regard to the application by Romania to become a member of the European Union,

— having regard to the request for assent submitted by the Council pursuant to Article 49 of the EU

Treaty (C6-0086/2005),

— having regard to the opinion of the Commission (COM(2005)0055),

— 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 its resolution of 13 April 2005 on the financial

implications of the accession of

Bulgaria and Romania (1),

— having regard to Rules 75 and 82(6) of its Rules of Procedure,

— having regard to the recommendation of the Committee on Foreign Affairs (A6-0083/2005),

A. whereas the conditions for the admission of the applicant countries and the modifications which their
accession entails are set out in the accession treaty and whereas Parliament should be consulted on any
substantial modifications to this treaty,

B. whereas the Council and the Commission must fully involve the European Parliament in the follow-up
to the process of accession of Romania, and in decision-making should the safeguard clauses contained
in the accession treaty be activated in connection with the accession of Romania,

(1) Texts Adopted, P6_TA(2005)0116.