Romania & Bulgaria Now In the EU

           Romania & Bulgaria Now In the EU

Bulgaria's
Geography:
42,855 square miles. Population is 8 million. Situated in the center of the volatile Balkans, with Turkey & Greece to the south, Serbia & Macedonia to the west, Romania to the north & the Black Sea to the east.

Economy:
After the collapse of communism in 1989, Bulgaria began market-oriented reforms. The government has tamed inflation, and the jobless rate has fallen to about 9% just 1/2 of what it was 5 years ago. Bulgaria remains poor however with the average monthly salary is just £107.

Romania's
Geography:
91,700 square miles. Population is about  22 million. Romania lies west of the Black Sea with borders against Hungary, Ukraine, Moldova, Bulgaria & Serbia.

Economy:
After years of recession during a painful transition to capitalism, the economy has grown rapidly; in 2004 it rose by 8.4 per cent. Growth slowed to 4.1% in 2005 due to flooding and a poor harvest. The economy is expected to grow by 7% this year. Unemployment is about 6% & the average monthly wage is about £207.

Great Britain, opened its labor markets fully for workers from the 10 nations that entered the EU in 2004, yesterday said job-seekers from Bulgaria & Romania would be allowed only a very gradual access.

"The approach to labour-market access for the two new member-states will be gradual," Prime Minister Tony Blair's office said in a statement that is sure to disappoint & possibly aggravate Sofia & Bucharest,

having contiboulsy argued that their workers would not flood western European labor markets.

Estimates for the number of Poles who have come to Scotland alone since their country's entry to the EU are anything between 40,000-70,000 because they will take jobs that the Scots will not take.

Yesterday, recommending what could be the EU's last expansion for years, the European Commission listed urgent reforms that Bulgaria & Romania must still complete to avoid being deprived at the outset of full membership benefits, that includes a large part of their EU aid.

EU leaders will ratify the recommendation next month. When this formality is complete, the EU will then number 27 countries & be comprise some 410,000,000 people.

This is the EU's 2nd. wave of enlargement into the formerly communist portions of eastern Europe. This expandsthe bloc to 27 members & locking the Black Sea neighbors into the stability & prosperity zone of as well as promising a swift boost to their rapidly expanding economies.

"This is the genuine and final fall of the Berlin Wall for Bulgaria," said Sergey Stanishev, the Bulgarian prime minister, referring to the 1989 defeat of communism in eastern Europe.

Calin Tariceanu, the Romanian prime minister, vowed his country would work "full steam ahead" on reforms. "Romanians have a reason to be proud of themselves," he said.

The tough entry conditions laid down yesterday show the on-going concern for Romania's & Bulgaria's shortcomings, including corruption, organized crime & food- safety standards. It also exhibbits doubts over their ability to properly administer the billions of Euro-dollars in EU aid.

It is also possible that some sanctions, which can legally be applied up to 3 years after the countries' accession, are meant to reassure a growing number of critics of the enlargement who are voicing fears the addition of these & other poor eastern European nationss will undermine western Europe's social model.

The European Commission said it may freeze payments to Bulgaria & Romania unless they complete proceduess to allocate billions of Euro-dollars in farm subsidies & regional aid packages.

Bulgaria is required to amend its constitution to remove ambiguity about the independence & accountability of the judicial system. Romania must strengthen its top court as well as establish an agency to verify the financial & real assets of senior government officials.

But many people the promise of EU jam tomorrow will not be enough to stop them from trying to leave their native lands, They just do not want to wait for Romania & Bulgaria to become wealthy nations of the EU. That will take years & these folks do not have those years to waste.