Bulgaria Risks Becoming EU Cautionary Tale - Report

Politics » BULGARIA IN EU | October 28, 2008, Tuesday // 00:00

"Bulgaria risks becoming EU cautionary tale," states the title of an article published Monday in the electronic edition of International Herald Tribune.

"When Bulgaria joined the European Union last year, this was supposed to mark the start of an ambitious drive to modernize the former Soviet bloc country and bring it finally into the European political mainstream," according to the author Stephen Castle.

"Twenty-two months later, the Bulgarian government has only a few weeks to avert the loss of millions of euros in European subsidies - and an unprecedented sanction from Brussels," the author continues.

According to the publication, the slow rate of progress in the country in the fight against the misuse of European funds and the lack of convictions in cases where corruption is involved, are a reminder of the difficulties the European Union would encounter when trying to integrate former Communist countries.

"At a summit with Ukraine last month, for example, the EU pledged closer ties, but avoided any commitment to offering Kiev a clear path toward membership in the bloc," the publication points out, adding that the "Bulgarian and Romanian accession illustrates why officials are erring on the side of caution."

"One of the unstated reasons for admitting Bulgaria and Romania in 2007 was to keep them out of Moscow's growing sphere of influence," the author continues and explains that such move came with a price - EUR 11 B in subsidies just for the 2007 and 2013, while EU officials fear that most of these funds would be drained by criminals.

The article also points out that the accession of Bulgaria and Romania before the countries have made all essential reforms have prompted the European Commission to take a sterner look at potential new members, including Croatia.

The full text of the article can be found at: http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=98314

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