By Daisy Ayliffe - 4th April 2006
Bulgaria has played down reports that Sofia will not join the EU on schedule on January 1 2007.
Bulgaria insists it will be ready to join the EU next year - in spite of comments by enlargement commissioner Olli Rehn that it now trails Romania in terms of reform.
“There is no plan B. We are not working for 2008 entry, we are focussed on 2007 and only have one target date,” a Bulgarian diplomat told EUpolitix.
“It is normal that the commission should become more critical at this stage. Their job is not to focus on achievements but on the gaps left to fill. We did not expect their monitoring report to be wholly positive.”
And Bulgaria points to the implementation of a new penal code and progress on bringing organised crime networks to justice as evidence that it is on track for 2007 entry.
But addressing MEPs behind closed doors on Monday, Rehn reserved his praise for Romania.
The commissioner commended Bucharest for making progress in the "critical" areas of corruption judicial reform.
"Romania has made progress in the fight against corruption. Sound and solid structures have been set up for this purpose, and investigations into high-level corruption cases have been launched," he said.
And he added that progress had been more limited in Bulgaria.
"Progress in the reform of the judiciary system has been limited. Existing legal provisions to pursue high-level corruption have only rarely been used.”
The EU executive’s latest assessment sparked strong reaction in Sofia.
"It is humiliating for us to see Romania's back on the final strait," former Bulgarian prime minister Iwan Kostow is reported as saying in the Polish press.
But Brussels based diplomats were keen to avoid comparisons with Romania.
“I cannot prejudge what the member states will decide. What I can say is that we are doing our job and we hope the date will be 2007,” a Bulgarian diplomat commented.
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