http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/07/03/europe/EU-GEN-Romania-Bulgaria-EU-Woes.php EU fears new members Romania and Bulgaria are backtracking on reform
The Associated Press Tuesday, July 3, 2007 BUCHAREST, Romania: When Former Romanian Prime Minister Adrian Nastase said on television last week that he may run for president in 2009, Romanians hardly batted an eyelid. No matter that Nastase faces trial over claims he used his office to quash a probe into about a million euros (US$1.35 million) in bribes he allegedly received while prime minister. For new EU member Romania, corruption is simply a fact, even a way, of life. Romania and Bulgaria, which joined the bloc on Jan. 1, got their first report card from Brussels last week — and were served with stern words that they have a long way to go until they can be considered truly 'European.' In fact, there are signs the two countries have been slipping back into the bad old ways of graft and economic bungling now that they have made it into the club and no longer face tough membership hurdles. Both countries escaped legal sanctions but they were singled out for criticism over a lack of progress in fighting widespread corruption and organized crime. EU Justice and Home Affairs Commissioner Franco Frattini said specifically the pair needed to fight harder against endemic graft and work to overcome a backlog of cases waiting to go to court. He warned the countries would be reviewed in a year, with the threat of sanctions that include rendering the countries' court decisions invalid outside Romania or Bulgaria. Frattini said high-level corruption was "still one point of weakness," adding "too many indictments still need to be translated into a final decision of a court." Many observers say the EU needs to get a lot tougher before it can expect any substantial change from Romania and Bulgaria. "The Romanians don't seem to get this report because it is couched in very diplomatic language which is normal because they are a member," said one Western diplomat who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to comment publicly. "They also think it is good that they escaped sanctions, but that is not what is about." In Bulgaria, corruption is widespread, too. The year before Bulgaria joined the EU, the equivalent of some €500 million (US$680 million) was lost to corruption in public procurement and €400 million (US$544 million) in land swap schemes and state property management, according to a report by the Independent Center for the Study of Democracy. Figures for this year were not available. There were 130,000 bribes reported to legal authorities in 2006, with just 233 legal proceedings and 188 convictions. According to Bulgaria's chief prosecutor, Boris Velchev, the most pernicious form of corruption is in the judicial system, where magistrates are known to accept bribes to end corruption investigations. Another problem Bulgaria faces is the failure of law enforcement agencies to resolve hundreds of underworld-related assassinations in recent years, a phenomenon watched with growing concern by the European Union. Three consecutive chairmans of premier league soccer club Lokomotiv Plovdiv have been fatally shot in recent years. The most recent was Alexander Tasev, gunned down in Sofia in May in an upscale district in Sofia. The three slayings remain unsolved. Velchev called the fight against Bulgarian organized crime "insufficient," adding "still not a single high profile person has been sent to jail." Basescu argued last month that since he came to power in 2004, there have been investigations against eight lawmakers, including former President Ion Iliescu and three Cabinet ministers. But there have been no convictions, and trials in Romania often go on for years, postponed for technical reasons as in Nastase's case. Lawmaker Cozmin Gusa was outraged that Nastase would mull a run for the presidency while facing trial for corruption. "He should have waited until his trial was over and he had an innocent verdict," he said. "He is pressuring the justice system, saying to magistrates 'watch out I might be president one day.'" ___ Associated Press writer Veselin Toshkov in Sofia also contributed to this report. Copyright © 2007 The International Herald Tribune | <http://www.iht.com> www.iht.com ---------------------------- Vali "Noble blood is an accident of fortune; noble actions are the chief mark of greatness." (Carlo Goldoni) "When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace." (Jimi Hendrix)
