Romanian Foreign Minister Confident Country on Track for 2007 EU Entry

Rompres, EurActiv, EUobserver, FT - 23/08/05; AP, AFP, Reuters, BBC, Rompres - 22/08/05)

With only weeks to go before the European Commission releases a key report assessing Romania's readinesss for EU membership, Foreign Minister Mihai-Razvan Ungureanu voiced confidence Tuesday (23 August) that his country is on track.

"I am confident that the monitoring report of October 2005 will evoke the progress Romania made over the past eight months," Ungureanu, a member of the National Liberal Party (PNL), told a summer school for young liberals held at a Black Sea resort.

Bulgaria and Romania signed their accession treaties with the EU on 25 April. Both are scheduled to join the Union on 1 January 2007. But safeguard clauses included in the treaties allow the EU to postpone their entry by one year, if they fail to meet the commitments made during membership negotiations. Ungureanu warned on Tuesday that any activation of the EU safeguard clause would cost the country 2 billion euros. That is approximately the same amount provided by the EU for implementation of scheduled reforms.

Romania's specific commitments include reforms in the judiciary and public sector, as well as stronger anti-corruption measures and a reduction of steel subsidies.

In his comments Tuesday, Ungureanu acknowledged that Romania is lagging behind slightly in the implementation of judicial and environmental measures and in bringing competition rules in line with EU standards and norms.

However, both Ungureanu and PNL vice president Teodor Melescanu sought to downplay the effect of a possible negative recommendation in the October report, saying an April 2006 assessment by the EC would have greater weight.

"It is only in April 2006 that the European Commission will draw up the final report on the two countries' capability to join the EU on 1 January 2007," Romanian state news agency Rompres quoted him as saying.

Melescanu and Ungureanu's statements came a day after Prime Minister Calin Popescu Tariceanu replaced four ministers -- two from each the PNL and the Democratic Party (PD) -- in a bid to boost popular support for the ruling coalition and accelerate the reform process.

Among those sacked Monday was European Integration Minister Ene Dinga, who was replaced by Anca-Daniela Boagiu. Finance Minister Ionut Popescu, who angered some by announcing an unpopular VAT increase without clearing it first with partners in the four-party coalition government, was replaced by Sebastian Vladescu. Gheorghe Pogea was appointed deputy prime minister in charge of co-ordinating business activities in place of Gheorghe Seculici. Eugen Nicolaescu replaced Mircea Cinteza as health minister.

"We need ministers who will perform superbly, not just well," Tariceanu said Monday.

Tariceanu announced his resignation last month following a move by the constitutional court to water down EU-required judicial reform laws. He reversed his decision several days later after being warned by EU officials that Romania could not afford to waste time for early elections that his resignation would have sparked.

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