Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 24 June 2004
79 Mr. Murphy asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will report on the ongoing efforts being made by Romania and Bulgaria to meet European Union accession criteria; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18770/04]
Amharc ar fhreagraCompliance with the political criteria is a prerequisite for the opening of negotiations with candidate countries for accession to the EU. The EU considers that both Romania and Bulgaria continue to fulfil the political criteria. With regard to the economic criteria, Bulgaria is regarded as having a functioning market economy while Romania can be considered a functioning market economy once the good progress made has continued decisively.
The European Council, at its meeting in Brussels on 18 June, noted with great satisfaction that Bulgaria had provisionally closed all the negotiation chapters and that Romania was substantially closer to achieving the same objective by the end of 2004. It reiterated the European Union's aim to welcome the two countries as members of the Union in January 2007, if they are ready.
