The European Commission procedures regarding aspirants Bulgaria and Romania are stricter than those applied to the ten newcomers from the bloc's 2004 wave of expansion, Bulgaria's Prime Minister Sergey Stanishev told the Berlin-based Tageszeitung daily.

Stanishev attributed this to the defeat of the EU's constitution in French and Dutch referendums and the British presidency's abortive efforts to reform the budget, events, which in his words, have had their impact on the European Commission.

Tageszeitung newspaper, known for its left-wing preferences, published an interview with Bulgaria's Prime Minister Sergey Stanishev in its Tuesday' issue.

"I believe now the European Commission and European Parliament must show that Bulgaria and Romania will enter the EU not only because of their geostrategic importance but also because of their ability to apply European standards," Stanishev said.

He disagreed with statements that Romania, which has been praised for progress in the judiciary and the fight against corruption, is overtaking Bulgaria in the final stretch to EU accession.

The European Commission has expressed serious concerns about the rule of law in Bulgaria, which hopes to join the EU with neighbouring Romania. If Bulgaria fails to get results, EU entry could be delayed until 2008.

Ten countries joined the EU in 2004, bringing the total number of member states to 25.

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