The EU Commission President Jose Barroso has already decided to delay the decision on the accession date of Romania and Bulgaria by up to five months, media reports said on Tuesday.

Rumours for delaying the judgement till the autumn have been circulating for about a week and now it seems almost certain that Bulgaria and Romania will have to wait until the last minute to find out whether they can join the European Union next year.

Senior commission officials told the Financial Times that the decision would be postponed until the autumn to give more time to assess whether the two countries are on the right path in tackling corruption and organised crime.

The FT points out that Barroso's biggest concerns are over Bulgaria, "where police and judicial reforms have so far failed to yield high level prosecutions of criminal bosses or crooked politicians."

Bulgaria once led Romania in EU reforms but stumbled last year after a protracted political standoff and a failure to lay corruption charges against high-level officials or convict anyone for a string of contract murders.

The FT comments that Romania will be disappointed to be kept waiting to hear whether it can join on time in 2007, although in practice both Bulgaria and Romania are unlikely to have to wait until 2008, the maximum delay allowed under their accession treaties.

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