Brussels, 01/02/2008 (Agence Europe) - On Monday 4 February, the European Commission is set to call upon Bulgaria and Romania to achieve better results in the reform of their legal systems and the fight against high-level corruption, according to a European source, which refers to an assessment report that is due to be published on both countries. The accession of Bulgaria and Romania on 1 January 2007 brought with it a range of accompaniment measures designed to plug shortcomings in several fields, including the reform of the legal system and the fight against corruption and organised crime. This monitoring may lead to sanctions, notably by the application of safeguard measures, which may be taken within three years, or until December 2009 (EUROPE 9335). “The Commission has no desire to invoke the safeguard clauses against them”, a European source confirmed. In its interim report, the Commission states that Bulgaria, and Romania more so, have failed to make sufficient progress in the legal treatment of cases of corruption at high levels. For Bulgaria, the fight against organised crime remained a cause for concern. As for Romania, it is in the field of judicial reform that matters are lagging behind. In the most recent assessment report, which dates from June 2007, both countries had made a certain amount of progress, particularly by the adoption of a range of legislation (EUROPE 9456). A new, more detailed report will be published in July to re-assess the situation in both countries. The Commission is waiting for this date to take position on the possible end of the assessments. It is worth noting that the internal political conflict in Romania, which involves, amongst others, President Traian Basescu and Prime Minister Calin Popescu-Tariceanu, did nothing to make the reforms easier. (B.C.)