Brussels, 07/07/2005 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday, the European Parliament adopted a common resolution proposed by the PES, Greens, ALDE, GUE/NGL and UEN on Bulgaria and Romania's accession process. This resolution was adopted by 360 votes for, 79 against, with 125 abstentions (mainly from the EPP-ED) and MEPs therefore confirmed their support for the 9 June decision by the Conference of Presidents of the Political Groups of the Parliament for these two countries sending observers to the European Parliament from 26 September 2005 until the planned accession date of 1 January 2007. According to the MEPs' resolution, the arrival of observers will allow them to not only get used to the work of the EP but their presence will also strengthen preparations of these two countries for a “successful accession”. Parliament also underlines that it will continue to follow the two countries accession preparations closely and is calling on the European Commission to “keep it regularly informed of the Bulgarian and Romanian authorities' respect for the commitments made in the accession treaty”. In this context, Parliament points out that it has approved the accession treaty on the condition that the Council and Commission give full backing to the decision for a possible triggering of the safeguard clauses contained in the accession treaty.
The majority of EPP-ED MEPs abstained from the vote and proposed that the EP refrain from any decision on inviting Bulgarian and Romanian observers as long as the European Commission has not ruled on the exact date of these two countries joining (namely, after publication of the next regular reports expected in October). It is common knowledge that the accession treaty for these two countries includes the possibility of postponing accession, which under normal circumstances is expected on 1 January 2007 - until 2008, if there are any delays in preparations. In a draft resolution prepared by Othmar Karas (EPP-ED, Austria), the EPP-ED points out that observers from the ten new countries that joined in May 2004 had not been invited until April 2003 (after the signing of the accession treaty), a year before the accession of their countries. Given that the accession treaty with Bulgaria and Romania was signed in April, 20 months before the nearest date for accession, the EPP believes that there is no reason to grant Bulgarian and Romania observers “preferential treatment”. This explains the EPP-ED's request that observers are not admitted to the EP until a year before the date of accession, once this has definitively been made known. The proposal was rejected by the other groups.