Bulgaria and Romania Sign Up

Bulgaria and Romania have signed EU accession treaties, putting them on the path to membership. There may be trouble ahead however:

The reforms that Bulgaria and Romania have already passed into law must now be put into practice.

I have experience with the Bureaucrats of both of these countries and believe me change is going to be difficult. Looking on the bright side, we could always send a bunch of them to Brussels to slow down things there.

Courts will have to prove that people receive a fair trial and anti-corruption authorities will have to show that no one is beyond their reach.

Ironic isn’t it. Courts are to be guilty until proven innocent and the corrupt Eurocracy demands that their Balkan counterparts give up corruption. Bearing in mind the Tillack trial, no-one beyond their reach probably refers to journalists.

The cost of living may rise dramatically as heating bills increase and the withdrawal of state subsidies for less profitable sectors like steel and coal may add to unemployment.

Well there has to be some benefit in joining. Cutting subsidies will allow the money to be spent where it is really needed or used to further reform the tax systems, an area where both countries are making real progress. Most of all, I hope the impact of EU legislation on these two poor countries is not as bad as I fear it will be. It’s a major burden on even developed economies though, so we will have to wait and see.