Bulgaria and Romania to join the EU from January 1st 2007

Bulgaria and Romania to join the EU from January 1st 2007

Bulgaria and Romania to join the EU from January 1st 2007 The head of the European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso welcomed the peoples and authorities of both Bulgaria and Romania for their efforts to meet the requirements for membership in the EU. He announced the official approval of both countries in the organization. The conclusion of the commission is that Bulgaria and Rumania are ready to take on the rights and obligations for EU membership. In May 2006 the Commission considered that "Bulgaria and Romania should be prepared for EU membership on 1 January 2007, provided that they address a number of outstanding issues." Mr Barroso marked that since then both countries have made far reaching efforts and addressed many of the challenges. He added that the support for the accession date is a result of “rigorous, fair and objective assessment”. Barroso said that until accession and beyond that the European Commission will apply a mechanism of cooperation and monitoring on the continuous progress achieved by both states in some particular areas. The successful fifth enlargement opens new opportunities for the development of the Union. Yet the report proposes some safeguard measures that would help keep both countries on the right track and guarantee that EU taxpayers' money is spent rightfully – said Olli Rehn. The Commissioner said that both Bulgaria and Romania will enrich the Union without discrediting the functioning of its institutions. Even before the accession of Bulgaria in the union, the country proved as a popular tourism destination. The huge investments in the tourism sector lead to the improvement of the quality of services and turned Bulgaria into a preferred holiday destination for many European citizens.