Depressing reading
Eastern approaches 2014-01-22
Summary:
WHEN Bulgaria and Romania became members of the European Union in 2007, the European Commission imposed one unprecedented condition, usually reserved for non-EU countries wanting to join: a temporary monitoring of the reforms in the two Balkan countries that many deemed were not ready to join the bloc. Seven years later, the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism, still stands and the European Commission is showing no signs it will end it any time soon.
In the latest batch of reports under the mechanism, presented today, Brussels continued to scold Bulgaria and Romania on deficiencies in the rule of law, judicial reform and the fight against corruption. But the two reports tell two different stories on the progress made in these areas. In Bulgaria “overall progress has not yet been sufficient and remains fragile”. Romania on the other hand has taken "some significant steps… [showing] a real commitment to reform".
In what Jonathan Allen, the British Ambassador to Bulgaria, called “depressing reading,” on his Twitter account, the commission adopted a noticeably harsher tone with Bulgaria. More worryingly than its inability to reform the slow and ineffective justice system and to fight both corruption and organised crime, the Commission noted that three different governments since the last report was...Continue reading