EU May Withhold Aid to Hasten Up Bulgaria's Reforms

Politics » BULGARIA IN EU | May 11, 2006, Thursday // 00:00

The European Union may withhold financial aid for applicants Bulgaria and Romania even if they join the bloc on January 2007, until key reforms are completed.

According to a draft European Commission report as quoted by the Bulgarian National Radio (BNR), the two Balkan states had so far failed to set up payment agencies for EU farm subsidies.

Moreover, the document said Sofia was also not ready to disburse the bloc's multi-billion-euro regional aid.

The draft report is now in circulation for debate among senior EC officials, but it did not contain a recommendation on whether Sofia and Bucharest should join the EU25 in 2007 or 2008.

The conclusion space was left blank, probably to be filled in before the EU executive issues the report next Tuesday, May 11. EU leaders are expected to decide on this issue at the June summit, although there are growing indications the final choice may be postponed until this autumn.

Since the Commission's last progress report in October 2005, the draft EC report says, Romania has reduced the number of red flags to four from 14 and Bulgaria to six from 16.

However, while Romania's shortcomings concerned technical issues such as a computer system for tax collection, Bulgaria was warned it must make urgent progress in prosecuting organised crime and fighting corruption.

"Indictments, prosecutions, trials, convictions and dissuasive sentences remain rare in the fight against high-level corruption," the draft report said.

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