Tempus
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Tidskriften
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Bulgaria and Romania were not expected
to beat organised crime and corruption the day they joined the
European Union in January 2007. But they have made so little progress
that their failure is becoming an embarrassment for the EU.
Two contract killings in Bulgaria this month are a harsh reminder
of reality in a country that has recorded 120 unsolved gangland-style
murders since 2001. The resignation of Rumen Petkov, interior
minister, after meeting suspected crime bosses, confirmed a dismal
picture. In Romania, the position is better. Corruption, not organised
crime, is the main issue; EU-mandated anti-graft reforms have
been delayed by political machinations.
The EU set entry conditions on both states, including a three-year monitoring period. If Sofia or Bucharest infringe EU economic rules, they could face financial penalties, including the withholding of big aid payments. If they break the justice rules, other members could refuse to recognise their judgments. There are no explicit financial penalties but Brussels can apply financial pressure, for example, by probing aid flows for possible abuses. It has already launched three investigations in Bulgaria.
With the European Commission due to report again on both countries in June, the EU must consider raising the temperature. It could start by expanding the scope of its aid-linked investigations. It could also look at political sanctions. The EU treaty’s Article 7 allows the union to suspend a member’s voting rights for “serious and persistent” breaches of EU principles, including on human rights and the rule of law. It would not be hard to argue human rights are under threat in Bulgaria with 120 unsolved murders. Nor would it be impossible to suggest Romanian MPs abuse the rule of law when they turn legal reforms into a game.
The EU rightly sees formal political sanctions as extreme. They risk undermining the reformers in both countries. They could also trigger unwelcome diplomatic consequences given the growing Russian influence in the Balkans.
But it may soon be time to start along this path, perhaps with informal bilateral political sanctions of the kind EU members applied when the far-right Freedom party entered the Austrian government in 2000.
However, there are limits on external influence. Over 50 years
of EU membership have not helped Italy beat the Mafia. Prime responsibility
for cleaning up Romania and Bulgaria rests not with Brussels but
with Bucharest and Sofia. Governments must take action –
and voters must ensure that they do.
© The Financial Times Limited 2008 http://ft.onet.pl/0,8969,balkan_blackspots,artykul_ft.html
