Brussels has given a dim green light to Bulgaria and Romania, as the two applicants are yet to deliver staunch proof of readiness for EU entry, the Economist wrote in its latest edition.

Both Sofia and Bucharest appear to be rushing to reach the minimum standards the EU is demanding, making up with putting into a gelistaive form the thousands of pages of European laws.

The gansgsters of the 90s are obsolete now, the Economist notes, but contract killings and inaccessible mafia bosses continue to add dramatic sketches to the background.

The EU's executive arm has slipped a mumbled invitation to the two Balkan countries to join the European Union in 2007, according to the Economist. Yet, it is quite unreal for Brussels to delay welcoming its newest entrants by a year.

Bulgaria and Romania should join the European Union early next year, as planned, but only if both countries meet certain - and stricter - conditions.

In a monitoring report released on Tuesday the European Commission recommended that a decision on whether Bulgaria and Romania should join the bloc on 1 January 2007 should be postponed until the autumn.

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