The European Commission will make Bulgaria and Romania wait until the last minute to find out whether they can join the European Union in 2007, or have to wait another year, unofficial information shows.

The final recommendation on admitting Romania and Bulgaria into the EU will be delayed until September in an attempt to keep up the pressure for reform, media reports say.

In the keenly awaited recommendation Brussels will say that the two states could still join next year, but the final decision on the accession date and eventual imposition of safeguard clauses will be delayed for September, Martin Dimitrov, an observer in the European Parliament, told the Bulgarian News Agency.

Since the Commission's last progress report in October, 2005, Bulgaria is expected to reduce the number of red flags, or "areas of serious concern" to six from 16.

Among the points, which require urgent action, are tangible results in money laundering, prosecuting organised crime, fraud and corruption.

The European Commission will continue to monitor Bulgaria and Romania's progress until accession, read the key findings in the document adopted by the EU Commission Tuesday in Strasbourg and seen by EUexpands.

It will review the situation in early October 2006, by the latest.

The agency comments that the delay in the decision comes after a failure of the EU Commission to overcome difficulties.

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