Romania’s 10th anniversary of the signing of its EU Accession Treaty
Romania celebrates ten years since it signed the European Union Accession Treaty.
Valentin Țigău, 27.04.2015, 13:11
Romania officially submitted its EU membership application in 1995, a move supported by all of the country’s political groups. 10 years later, on April 25, 2005 in Luxembourg, Romania signed the European Union Accession Treaty. In 2007, Romania and Bulgaria officially became part of the EU family. 10 years on, Romania is now looking back at its road to accession, looking for ways to strengthen integration and consolidate reforms in order to bridge the gaps that still separate it from other EU countries.
The accession process, which started with the signing of the Treaty, was Romania’s most important national objective in the last 25 years, according to the Romanian Foreign Ministry. Along with the country’s NATO accession, it triggered an irreversible process of change, particularly in terms of modernising Romanian society, by bringing it in line with EU and NATO values and principles.
President Klaus Iohannis believes the current context allows Romania to consolidate its position within the European Union. Iohannis promises that state authorities will act so as to make Romania’s voice heard in decision-making structures in Brussels. The country’s Social Democrat Prime Minister Victor Ponta has pointed out that the European Union is today an integral part of Romanians’ lives, this status providing them with many economic, social, security and diplomatic benefits.
In Brussels, European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker congratulated Romania and Bulgaria on this occasion. The EU official said he was proud to have witnessed the early days of the two countries’ path to EU accession.
At present, Romania is concerned with further integration, one of its top priorities being the lifting of the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism, a safeguard measure created in 2007 for Romania and Bulgaria to monitor their progress in reforming their judiciary and fighting corruption and organised crime. Romania and Bulgaria have repeatedly argued that the Mechanism is the main obstacle to their bid to join the Schengen free-travel area. Although Romania reported remarkable progress in its justice system, which has for many become an example, Bucharest also plans to improve other areas in which it is lagging behind, such as education, healthcare, environment protection and infrastructure.