Commission Opinion of 22 February 2005 on the applications for accession to the European Union by the Republic of Bulgaria and Romania
Date: 2005-04-18
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Bulgaria, EC opinion, Romania, accession to the European Union, economic integration

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 18.4.2005 
COM(2005) 55 final/2 

CORRIGENDUM: Considérant 9 
Concerne toutes les versions linguistiques 

COMMISSION OPINION 

of 22 February 2005 

on the applications for accession to the European Union by the Republic of Bulgaria and 
Romania 

EN 

   EN 

 
 
 
  
 
COMMISSION OPINION 

of 22 February 2005 

on the applications for accession to the European Union by the Republic of Bulgaria and 
Romania 

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, 

Having regard to the Treaty on European Union, and in particular Article 49 thereof, 

Whereas: 

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

(4) 

(5) 

The  Republic  of  Bulgaria  and  Romania  have  applied  to  become  members  of  the 
European Union. 

In  its  opinions  of  15  July  1997  on  the  Republic  of  Bulgaria  and  Romania,  the 
Commission  has  already  had  an  opportunity  to  express  its  views  on  certain  essential 
aspects of the problems arising in connection with these applications. 

The  European  Council  meeting  in  Copenhagen  in  June  1993  laid  down  for  the  first 
time the political, economic and acquis criteria for membership, that have guided the 
accession  process  and  the  Commission’s  regular  assessments  of  the  readiness  of  the 
Republic  of  Bulgaria  and  Romania.  The  political  criteria  require  the  Republic  of 
Bulgaria and Romania to ensure the stability of institutions guaranteeing democracy, 
the  rule  of  law,  human  rights  and  the  respect  for  and  protection  of  minorities;  these 
requirements  are  enshrined  as  constitutional  principles  in  the  Treaty  on  European 
Union  and  have  been  emphasised  in  the  Charter  of  Fundamental  Rights  of  the 
European Union. The economic criteria require the existence of a functioning market 
economy as well as the capacity to cope with competitive pressure and market forces 
within the Union. The acquis criterion refers to the ability to take on the obligations of 
membership arising from the Union’s legislation, the acquis communautaire, including 
adherence to the aims of political, economic and monetary Union. 

The conditions and arrangements for admission of both States have been negotiated in 
Conferences between the Member States and the Republic of Bulgaria and Romania. 

In  its  Strategy  Paper  on  progress  in  the  enlargement  process  adopted  on  6  October 
2004, The Commission considered that the Republic of Bulgaria and Romania fulfilled 
the  political  criteria.  Bearing  in  mind  the  progress  achieved  by  both  countries,  and 
their  track  record  in  implementing  their  commitments,  and  taking  into  account  their 
preparatory  work  in  progress,  it  expected  these  countries  to  fulfil  the  economic  and 
acquis criteria and to be ready for membership by 1 January 2007. On this basis, the 
Commission  stated  that  it  would  make  every  effort  in  order  to  meet  the  European 
Council's  objective  to  bring  the  negotiations  with  the  Republic  of  Bulgaria  and 
Romania to a successful conclusion in 2004, on the basis of own merits, with a view to 
signing the Treaty of Accession as early as possible in 2005. 

EN 

2 

   EN 

 
 
(6) 

(7) 

(8) 

(9) 

These  negotiations  were  completed  in  December  2004,  and  it  is  apparent  that  the 
provisions  so  agreed  are  fair  and  proper;  this  being  so,  the  enlargement  of  the 
European Union, while preserving its internal cohesion and dynamism, will enable it 
to take a fuller part in the development of international relations. 

In joining the European Union, the Republic of Bulgaria and Romania accept, without 
reserve, the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe, and until its entry into force, 
the  Treaty  on  European  Union  and  the  Treaties  establishing  the  European 
Communities  including  all  their  objectives  and  all  decisions  taken  since  their  entry 
into  force,  and  the  options  taken  in  respect  of  the  development  and  strengthening  of 
those Communities and of the Union.  

It is an essential feature of the legal order introduced by the Treaties establishing the 
European  Communities  and,  at  its  entry  into  force,  the  Treaty  establishing  a 
Constitution for Europe that certain of their provisions and certain acts adopted by the 
institutions are directly applicable, that the law of the Union takes precedence over any 
national provisions which might conflict with it, and that procedures exist for ensuring 
the uniform  interpretation of the law of the Union; accession to the European Union 
implies  recognition  of  the  binding  nature  of  these  rules,  observance  of  which  is 
indispensable to guarantee the effectiveness and unity of the law of the Union. 

The Commission calls on the Republic of Bulgaria and Romania to pursue vigorously 
the  improvements  that  still  need  to  be  made  in  the  context  of  the  political  and 
economic criteria for membership and in relation to the adoption, implementation and 
enforcement  of  the  acquis.  The  Commission  will  continue  to  closely  monitor  the 
implementation  of  the  commitments  and  obligations  taken  on  by  both  countries,  and 
will assist them with the available instruments. Based on this continuous monitoring, 
the Commission reserves its rights, as set out in the Accession Treaty, in particular in 
Article 39 of the Accession Protocol, to present a proposal recommending to postpone 
accession by one year to 1 January 2008, should it consider that there is clear evidence 
that  the  state  of  preparations  for  adoption  and  implementation  of  the  acquis  in  the 
Republic of Bulgaria or Romania is such that there is a serious risk of either of those 
States  being  manifestly  unprepared  to  meet  the  requirements  of  membership  by  the 
date of accession of 1 January 2007 in a number of important areas, including specific 
commitments  and  requirements  applicable  to  Romania  in  the  areas  of  Justice  and 
Home  Affairs  and  Competition.  As  a  result  of  this  monitoring,  the  Commission  also 
reserves  its  rights  to  invoke  the  various  safeguard  clauses  foreseen  in  the  Accession 
Treaty for both countries, as well as, the specific mechanism on State aid set out in the 
Accession  Treaty  for  Romania  in  case  this  country  does  not  fulfil  its  commitments 
related to its enforcement record in this field. 

(10)  The  Commission  calls  on  the  Bulgarian  and  Romanian  authorities  to  complete  the 
translation  and  revision  of  the  acquis  before  the  date  of  accession  in  order  to  ensure 
legal certainty in the implementation of the legislation. 

(11)  One  of  the  objectives  of  the  European  Union  is  to  deepen  the  solidarity  between  its 

peoples while respecting their history, their culture and their traditions. 

(12)  Enlargement of the European Union through the accession of the Republic of Bulgaria 
and Romania will help to strengthen safeguards for peace and freedom in Europe. 

EN 

3 

   EN 

 
HEREBY DELIVERS A FAVOURABLE OPINION: 

on the accession to the European Union of the Republic of Bulgaria and Romania. 

This opinion is addressed to the Council of the European Union. 

Done at Brussels, 22 February 2005. 

For the Commission 
José Manuel Barroso 
The President 

For the Commission 
Olli Rehn 
Member of the Commission responsible for enlargement 

EN 

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   EN