Romania’s Schengen Area, Eurozone Accession Conditioned By EC Justice Report

The warning is included in a ministry document, obtained by MEDIAFAX, which contains a general presentation of safeguard clauses that may be applied on Romania after its EU accession. The document notes that, according to EU rules, the EC can apply safeguard clauses or similar measures stipulated in EU Treaties, valid indefinitely. The Commission may also apply safeguard clauses in different sectors.

According to the document, the EC may apply sector clauses on Romania by Jan 1, 2010, but once adopted, these clauses may be extended until problems are mended. The main sectors that could get the EC to apply a safeguard clause on Romania are agriculture and the management of structural and cohesion funds.

The document also includes a chapter on the Mechanism for Cooperation and Verification, which notes that EC officials have established a procedure to monitor and control the progress Romania makes in reforming its justice system and fighting corruption.

The conclusions of the document note that the country’s main risk right now is factual reporting to objectives within the Mechanism for Cooperation and Verification, which affect the country’s credibility as a partner in the EU and weakens the Union’s ability to negotiate and promote its interests.

Although no concrete sanctions have been adopted or proposed for Romania so far, the risk remains and, recently, there has been a growing trend to condition Romania’s accession to the Schengen area (planned for 2011) and the Eurozone (planned for 2014) to its progress within the Mechanism for Cooperation and Verification.

The European Commission is expected to release its report on Romania’s justice system in July.