Tema destacado del Jueves, 24. Julio 2008

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The EU Commission gets tough

The EU Commission yesterday published the Progress Reports on the EU's newest members Romanian and Bulgaria. Their findings are sobering: the level of corruption in both countries is still just as high as it was when they joined the EU 18 months ago, and their justice systems show serious shortcomings. The Commission has therefore stopped payment of EU funding to the tune of 500 million euros to Bulgaria, while it issued Romania with a stern warning. Is this tough policy the right approach?

Der Standard - Austria

The Austrian daily Der Standard believes many mistakes were made when Bulgaria and Romania became members of the EU: "Blocking 500 million euros in EU funding now is tantamount to applying the emergency brake - only after the accident has already happened. For the crash occurred when the two countries joined, and the mistake was to give Bulgaria and Romania a fixed date for accession while negotiations were still in progress. It is a bit like telling a school pupil he has passed his exams before he has even taken them - the enthusiasm to learn and engage in reforms quickly waned in Sofia and Bucharest. This has caused enormous damage not only to the two countries, for the millions that have seeped away into mafioso structure provide welcome ammunition for those venomous populists with their own axe to grind. Of course the abuses must be put a stop to straight away, and it is clear that Romania and Bulgaria joined the EU too early. Nevertheless, it is only fair to point out that at the end of the day both Austria's and the EU's economic balance with both countries is still positive - among other reasons because their accession established an important framework." (24/07/2008)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Ampliación de la UE, » Política de la UE, » Europa, » Rumania, » Bulgaria
Todos los textos disponible de » Michael Moravec

Evenimentul Zilei - Rumania

According to the daily Evenimentul Zilei the warning to Romania will do no good. The European Commission's judicial report "follows the typical pattern of hypocritical behaviour of Brussels' wavering bureaucrats, who under political pressure have undermined their own report. The warning that Romania's integration into the Schengen area and the Eurozone could be postponed disappeared overnight from the report, presumably at the request of Bucharest's lobbyists. The EU commissioners have shown Romanian politicians that they can bark but lack the courage to bite. A contrived phrase that found its way into an unreadable passage in the report explains that without efficient controls we could one day end up like the Bulgarians: without full access to structural funding. So what? The clients who with political blessing had access to the funding did not even manage to spend all the money on offer from the European Samaritans. The real problem is we cannot steal as much as they are offering us. ... Instead of using the whip good old President Barroso has offered Rumania's corrupt politicians a sugar cube and asked them to be sensible." (24/07/2008)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Ampliación de la UE, » Política de la UE, » Política interior, » Europa, » Rumania, » Bulgaria
Todos los textos disponible de » Mircea Marian

Klassa - Bulgaria

Bulgarian Vice Premier and Foreign Minister Ivailo Kalfin declared yesterday that the frozen EU subsidies were in any case no longer a mainstay of the Bulgarian economy. The daily Klassa takes him to task for this statement: "To claim that stopping [payments] on account of the irregularities in the justice system and high-level corruption is not as bad as if investments were curtailed is highly irresponsible, because the reduction in subsidies sends a signal to investors that the climate in Bulgaria is not suitable for investment. It is likewise irresponsible to declare that 11 billion euros are not all that important for the development of small and medium-sized companies. For it is precisely these companies that cannot secure their success via political connections. And there is another reason why this statement is irresponsible: Bulgaria will now become a 100-percent net contributor to the EU - paying in but getting nothing in return." (24/07/2008)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Ampliación de la UE, » Política de la UE, » Europa, » Bulgaria

Sme - Eslovaquia

In view of the EU's experience with Romania and Bulgaria the liberal daily Sme calls for it to be more cautious in admitting new members: "According to Romanian ethnologists there are 30 different words for corruption in Rumanian. This linguistic creativity speaks volumes and bodes ill. A survey of the Romanians completes the picture: 80 percent say they have experienced corruption. ... And the situation is similar in Bulgaria. While it would be unfair to claim that there is no corruption in the old countries of the EU, it nevertheless is a disgrace when in Bulgaria ministers are also involved and those accused remain silent. ... The EU should learn its lesson from Romania and Bulgaria before admitting any more new members and let ethnologists, as well as economists decide." (24/07/2008)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Ampliación de la UE, » Política de la UE, » Europa, » Rumania, » Bulgaria
Todos los textos disponible de » Katarína Mallok

Kauppalehti - Finlandia

The daily Kauppalehti sees the EU measures against Bulgaria and Romania as a signal for the rest of the Union: "The signal is: ... Things cannot go on like this! ... Corruption is a serious problem in the new member states - and of course in the old ones too - on which the EU Commission has spent tens of millions of euros trying to solve in recent years. ... The sanctions ... against Bulgaria are [also] a ... hint to the Finnish government ... following the depressing election financing scandal this spring... to see that our political culture is a fair one." (24/07/2008)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Ampliación de la UE, » Política de la UE, » Finlandia, » Europa, » Rumania, » Bulgaria

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