MEPs approve accession of Bulgaria and Romania to EU

7.11.58pm BST (GMT +0100) Wed 13th Apr 2005

The European Parliament has voted by an overwhelming majority to approve Bulgaria and Romania's accession to the EU, which should actually take place in 2007.

London Liberal Democrat MEP Baroness Sarah Ludford said: "This is a good decision, and I'm glad the bulk of MEPs ignored the attempts of the conservative and Green groups to delay today's vote for narrow-minded political reasons."

"The accession of these two countries will complete the 'fifth round' of enlargement, so that they join the other 8 Central and Eastern European countries that cam in to the EU last year. It will mark yet another major step in ending the post-Second World War division of Europe."

"Bulgaria and Romania have made big progress, though some worries remain especially on justice issues like corruption and treatment of the Roma minority. The ball is now in their court to make the 2007 entry date, but as both countries now have strong and stable Liberal Democrat governments, I'm confident they will manage it.

The European Parliament has received assurances from the Council and the Commission that Parliament will be involved in the monitoring process to determine whether the 2 countries can join in 2007, or whether the date has to be put back to 2008.

This week in Strasbourg, the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE group) hosted a two day visit for ten members of the Romanian and Bulgarian national Parliaments in order to discuss their countries' accession to the EU.

Ends