Rehn: Bulgaria, Romania Deserve Warm EU Welcome
2007-09-19 10:00:00
On EU Doorstep Bulgaria and Romania have put remarkable efforts into becoming worthy of joining the EU and they deserve a warm welcome, Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn said presenting the monitoring report on Tuesday. Yet the report proposes some safeguard measures that would help keep both countries on the right track and guarantee that EU taxpayers' money is spent rightfully. Bulgaria has already done a lot in the areas of legislation and tackling corruption and the constitutional reform will lead to favorable changes in the judiciary and in fighting organized crime, Rehn said. Still there had to be more practical results, now that the laws have been mended. Accompanying measures will focus in the areas of the judicial system and the fight against organized crime, and they will also monitor how EU structural funds are spent in the area of agriculture. Should it turn out that this money is not used rightfully, assets could be frozen, or the cash flow simply stopped.

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