Brussels, 07/04/2005 (Agence Europe) - The European Parliament and the Commission are currently negotiating the text of a statement in which the Commission is to provide guarantees that the Parliament will remain involved in the monitoring of preparations for the accession of Bulgaria and Romania, right up to their accession on 1 January 2007, and that the role of the EP in this process will not stop with the assent the EP is due to vote on next week at its plenary session in Strasbourg. The Commission's statement, which will not be legally binding but which will have undeniable political value, will state that the Parliament's point of view will be taken into account sufficiently when the Commission rules, in late 2006, whether Bulgaria and Romania have taken all measures required of them to be allowed to join on 1 January 2007. It is known that under the special safeguard clauses contained in the accession treaty for both countries, the Commission will have the power to recommend that the Member States postpone their membership by one year (until 2008) if either of them is not ready. It is in this important decision by the Commission that the Parliament is keen to have its say. An EP source has stressed that the Commissioner for Enlargement, Olli Rehn, has already promised the Parliament's committee on foreign affairs that the Parliament's opinion will be taken wholly into account at the final assessment in 2006. The statement currently being negotiated by José Manuel Barroso, Olli Rehn, Josep Borrell and Elmar Brok will commit to paper a promise already made by the Commissioner for Enlargement. It is also important for the declaration to specify that in its vote on the assents, “the European Parliament will not be laying aside its power” with regard to the accession of the two countries, sources from the EP stress.
On Wednesday, the Member States made an important gesture in favour of the Parliament. The Committee of Permanent Representatives of the Member States (Coreper) approved a statement to the effect that (our translation): “Considering the assent of the European Parliament on the applications for accession to the EU of the Republics of Bulgaria and Romania, the Council- if the European Commission submits to it a recommendation to implement any of the safeguard clauses contained within the accession treaty- will take position on this taking due account of the position of the European Parliament”.