Bulgaria and Romania became the 26th and 27th members of the European Union in January 2007, with little fanfare from EU leaders in Brussels. Analysts questioned whether either country had genuinely met the Copenhagen criteria for membership.
Experts cited serious concerns about Romania, including a lack of judicial independence, widespread corruption, risks of EU fund misuse, poor food safety standards, and porous borders vulnerable to trafficking in drugs, weapons, and people.
Bulgaria drew even sharper criticism. Organized crime was described as so deeply embedded that mafia activity accounts for roughly 25 percent of the country's gross national product. A confidential report on ties between the mafia, police, and judiciary has not been released, but its authors have begun speaking publicly. A senior German security official confirmed to a British newspaper that high-ranking Bulgarian officials have documented links to organized crime, while a German judge who contributed to the report noted that mafia figures committing serious crimes face no meaningful prosecution.
Pierre Moscovici, the European Parliament's rapporteur for Romania, offered several explanations for the decision to proceed with membership: Romania's widespread use of French strengthens France's standing in the EU, delaying accession risked damaging both countries' morale, and the EU considered it a historical obligation to integrate former Warsaw Pact nations.
Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this wire report, first published in December 2006, in its own words.