Brussels, 25/04/2003 (Agence Europe) - The EU/Bulgaria Joint Parliamentary Committee, which met this week in Brussels, feels that the pace of accession negotiations with Bulgaria should be maintained, irrespective of the conclusion of the accession process with the first ten accession countries, and that concluding its accession negotiations should in no way depend on agreement on the new financial perspectives of the enlarged EU (2007-2013). Furthermore, accession talks with Bulgaria should not be mixed up with the coming reforms of major Community policies, such as CAP, said European and Bulgarian MPs in a joint statement. Negotiations, they believe, should instead be carried out on the basis of the same criteria and principles as those concluded with the first ten accession countries, without introducing extra conditions or obstacles, in order to "guarantee" Bulgaria's accession on 1 January 2007(and that of Romania, although it is not mentioned in the JPC's joint statement).