BUSINESS WELCOMES THE POSITIVE STEP FOR ROMANIAN & BULGARIAN ACCESSION BUT IS THE EU PREPARED?
European Business – UNICE – welcomes the reports by the Commission on the evolution of Romania and Bulgaria’s accession process. The strong commitment of Romania and Bulgaria to meeting the accession criteria demonstrates that the European project still serves its basic objectives, which are:
• To promote peaceful integration of European countries.
• To contribute to the strengthening of democracy and the rule of law.
• To promote free markets in Europe.
• To offer new economic opportunities for countries that join.
However, a lot of work remains to be done to ensure that Romania and Bulgaria implement all legislation and rules of the European Union at the date of accession. Moreover, enlargement poses a number of challenges for the EU regarding its communications strategy and its institutional structure.
1. COMMUNICATING THE BENEFITS OF ENLARGEMENT
From a business perspective, enlargement has been a genuinely positive contribution to economic growth and jobs in Europe. A recent independent study commissioned by Danish Industries (DI) demonstrates convincingly that the enlargement from EU-15 to EU-25 has contributed to economic growth and jobs in both the “old” and “new” Member States. Moreover, it shows that the importance of delocalisation of industry from the EU-15 to the ten new Member States has been largely exaggerated. European Business deeply regrets that the EU has failed to communicate the positive economic and social impact of enlargement to the wider European public. UNICE expects Vice-President Wallstrom to commit more resources to explaining the benefits of enlargement over the coming years in the EU’s communications strategy.
As regards the accession process for Romania and Bulgaria, European Business is generally supportive of the Commission assessments but would like to underline the key challenges that still need to be addressed by each country.
2. REMAINING CHALLENGES IN ROMANIA & BULGARIA
a. Strengthen the rule of law
During the accession process, Romania and Bulgaria have agreed to adopt a number of administrative and legal reforms to strengthen the rule of law. This remains a basic condition for their accession to the EU because of continued European business concerns over corruption and organised crime. Challenges in this area require continuous commitments by Romania and Bulgaria to:
• Strengthen the administrative capacity and resources of the State to fully enforce the law.
• Provide the legal system with the means to implement the law at the national and local level effectively and rapidly.
• Develop more transparent State and administrative procedures and activities to reduce the possible scope of illegal activities.
• Create a more reliable and predictable business environment for domestic and foreign business alike.
b. Modernise customs and border procedures
Upon their accession to the EU, Romania and Bulgaria will need to modernise their customs and border procedures to protect the EU from a large increase of illegal trade on the Single Market. Relatively weak controls at the eastern borders could lead to an influx of counterfeit and contraband goods. The EU should work closely with Romania and Bulgaria to address these concerns before accession.
c. Ensure the full application of EU product standards
To maintain consumer confidence in EU products, Romania and Bulgaria must do their utmost to apply EU sanitary and product safety standards. The monitoring and implementation of these standards by the EU must be improved up to their accession. Key areas for further work include:
• Food sanitary and veterinary measures.
• Health and product safety.
• Environmental rules.
• Worker health and safety standards.
3. ADAPTING EU INSTITUTIONS TO A GROWING MEMBERSHIP
To cope with enlargement, the EU will need to reflect further on dealing with the current paralysis over the future of the EU institutions. Several challenges must be met.
• Reducing the number of Commissioners
• Adapting decision-making procedures in the Council to prevent paralysis of vital economic issues
• Ensuring that the European Parliament continues to function effectively.
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