Verheugen: EU entry impossible without judicial reform_x000d_
18.03.2004
Source: Pari
Bulgaria and Romania will have problems with the accession into the European Union (EU) in 2007 if they do not carry out the necessary judicial reforms, European enlargement commissioner Guenther Verheugen told BBC journalists in Brussels. He added, however, he did not expect a perfect judicial system from the two countries, the more so that the EU continued to help even member states develop their administrative structures. Each country has to convince the European Commission that it meets the Copenhagen criteria, Verheugen said and added no political compromises would be made. Taking up a questions whether the time until the end of 2006 is not too little for completion of the reforms in Bulgaria, he said the time was enough for the two countries to complete the required changes. Verheugen voiced doubt that the negotiations on Bulgaria's budget framework could be finalised by the end of the summer, because the EU members were not yet ready with the EU budget for 2007-13. According to the proposed framework, Sofia and Bucharest have to receive about EUR 9 million from the pre-accession funds.