Luxembourg, 26/04/2005 (Agence Europe) - Bulgaria and Romania will become members of the EU on 1 January 2007, whether or not the European Constitution has been ratified and entered into force, said Jean-Claude Juncker on Monday evening. “If by some misfortune, the Constitution has not been ratified, Bulgaria and Romania will become members in any case” on the scheduled date, he told the press, after the signature of the accession treaties (EUROPE 8935). If the Constitution has entered into force on 1 January 2007, this will obviously make it easier for the two countries to settle into Community structures, “but if the Constitution has not been ratified by then- a hypothesis I would rule out- then Bulgaria and Romania will still become full members (…), Constitution or no”, he stressed, speaking alongside the Romanian President Traian Basescu and the President and Prime Minister of Bulgaria, Georgi Parvanov and Simeon Saxe-Coburg respectively. When asked about the impact should the French referendum return a no-vote, Mr Juncker replied that he would not let such issues “spoil the party, this historical moment which deserves to be celebrated on its own merits”. He added: “I am convinced that the people of French will say 'yes'”. José Manuel Barroso also said that “the accession process of these two countries is irreversible”, and said that the Commission's monitoring of the last preparations for accession will be “very honest, very objective, very realistic, very serious”. He underlined the “remarkable progress” both countries had made, adding: “we must place this effort within the historical context and ask what the political and economic in Bulgaria and Romania was like fifteen years ago, or even less. My God, what a difference!” Mr Juncker also pointed out that it was under the Luxembourg Presidency that the European Council of December 1997 “called upon Bulgaria and Romania to take their places around the negotiating table” (the negotiations proper did not start until 2000: Ed). “Today, all of this seems just as it should be, but at the time, many people felt that Bulgaria and Romania should not become candidate countries”, he said. Mr Juncker interpreted the signing of the accession treaty as a “message” to the western Balkan countries. “these countries must become aware that if they take to heart the obligations that come with being a potential candidate for accession, the European Union will be able to make good its promise of European prospects”.