http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/11de9ce4-d38c-11dc-b861-0000779fd2ac.html
EU rebukes new members By Tony Barber in Brussels Published: February 5 2008 02:00 | Last updated: February 5 2008 02:00 Bulgaria and Romania, the European Union's newest members, were rebuked on Monday for failing to crack down sufficiently on high-level corruption and organised crime. The European Commission, in an interim report on the two countries' efforts to meet EU standards on justice and the rule of law, stopped short of threatening immediate punishments but made clear its concern that progress was too slow. "To use a sports analogy, we had a poor first half, we expect a better second one, and we don't want to go into extra time or penalties," Mark Gray, a Commission spokesman, told reporters. As a condition of entry to the EU in January 2007, Bulgaria and Romania had to accept a monitoring system under which the Commission supervised their efforts to stamp out organised crime and corruption, particularly in the public sector and judicial system. If Bulgaria and Romania fail to make enough progress in these areas, the EU has the right to impose punitive measures, such as withholding funds for agriculture and underdeveloped regions, at any point up to December 2009. The Commission's report said: "In its first year of membership, Romania has continued to make efforts to remedy weaknesses that would otherwise prevent an effective application of EU laws, policies and programmes. "However, in key areas such as the fight against high-level corruption, convincing results have not yet been demonstrated." [...] <http://www.ft.com/servicestools/help/copyright> Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2008 ---------------------------- 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) Aboneaza-te la <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> ngo_list: o alternativa moderata (un pic) la [ngolist] Please consider the environment - do you really need to print this email?
