Romania and Bulgaria have been cleared to join the European Union in January 2007, the European Commission announced yesterday. Strict conditions on corruption, judicial reform and farm payments are attached to the decision, which is set to be endorsed by an EU summit next month.
It has yet to be decided by each of the existing member states - including Ireland - whether to open labour markets to the two countries when they join, or delay that for up to seven years.
This was a difficult decision for the commission but it is a welcome and sensible one. These are European states committed to democracy and a market economy, which have made great strides towards reform. It would have been possible to delay their accession on grounds of ill-preparedness, as was done when they were detached from the previous EU enlargement in 2004. But since the basic political decision that they should join was already made this would have been a humiliation. The commission has had to judge whether it was worth so hurting the political class in both states to force the pace of reform, or whether that pressure could as well be applied by attaching these conditions. All told, it is better to have them in with a continuing momentum for reform rather than disillusioned by a year's delay.
Romania and Bulgaria have per capita incomes and economic output between one quarter and one third of the EU average and are less developed than the eight other central and east European member states. Many of these are having difficulties adapting politically and economically to the rigours of membership, as is seen in the current politics of Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
This has contributed to an "enlargement fatigue", especially in the older member states. It is directed especially against Turkey and Albania, but extends also to the possible accession of Macedonia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia and Montenegro, all of which have been given a long-term perspective to join the EU.
Croatia, which hopes to join long before this group, now fears its accession will be delayed even if it fully complies. Its leaders may be reassured by news that the commission expects to see EU constitutional or institutional reforms to cater for enlargement in place by 2008.
The Government has welcomed the accession of Romania and Bulgaria but signalled that it will delay opening the Irish labour market to them. It is constrained by the expected British decision to do likewise if it is to protect the common travel area between these islands.