Accession of Romania to the European Union Totally Explained

The Accession of Romania to the European Union took place on January 1, 2007. This date was set at the Thessaloniki Summit in 2003 and confirmed in Brussels on June 18, 2004. The country reports of October 2004 also affirmed the January 1, 2007 date of accession for both Bulgaria and Romania. The Treaty of Accession was signed on April 25, 2005 at Luxembourg's Neumünster Abbey. The September 26 2006 monitoring report of the European Commission confirmed the entry date as January 1 2007. The last instrument of ratification of the Treaty of Accession was deposited with the Italian government on December 20, 2006 thereby ensuring it came into force on January 1, 2007.

History

Since the Romanian Revolution of 1989, European Union (EU) membership has been the main goal of every Romanian Government and practically every political party in Romania. Romania signed its Europe Agreement in 1993 and submitted its official application for membership in the EU in 1995, the third of the post-Cold War Eastern European countries to do so after Hungary and Poland. Along with its official EU application, Romania submitted the “Snagov Declaration”, signed by all fourteen major political parties declaring their full support for EU membership.
During the 2000s, Romania implemented a number of reforms in order to prepare for EU accession, including the consolidation of its democratic systems, the institution of the rule of law, the acknowledgement of respect for human rights, the commitment to personal freedom of expression, and the implementation of a functioning free-market economy.

Short history of EU integration

Romania was the first country of Central and Eastern Europe to have official relations with the European Community. In 1974, a treaty included Romania in the Community's Generalized System of Preferences.
1974 - Romania’s inclusion in the Community's Generalized System of Preferences,
The most important events which mark the clear decision of Romania to integrate into the Euro-Atlantic structures as a strategic option, constantly manifested after 1990, have been:

1993 - Romania was granted membership in the Council of Europe.
- Romania signed an association agreement with the EU and a free trade agreement with the European Free Trade Association (EFTA).
- Romania was granted Most Favored Nation (MFN) status in its trade relations with the United States.
1994 - Romania became an associate member of the EU.
1997 - Romania became a member of CEFTA (the Central European Free Trade Agreement).
1999 - Romania was elected chairman of the OSCE for 2001.
- Romania was officially invited to membership talks, starting in February 2000, at the EU Summit in Helsinki.
2000 February 15 - Romania officially started accession negotiations.
2002 21-22 November - At a NATO summit in Prague, the Heads of NATO member states adopted a decision to invite Romania to start NATO accession talks. Bulgaria, Slovenia, Slovakia, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia were also invited to join NATO.
- The Copenhagen European Council in December confirmed the support of the Council for Romania's accession in 2007, and the EU used the occasion to maintain negotiation pace with Romania.
2003 December - The European Council stated that Welcoming Bulgaria and Romania in January 2007, if they're ready, is the common objective of the Union of 25.
2004 March 29 - Romania officially became a NATO member, together with six other states in Central and Eastern Europe.
- According to the Commission Regular Report 2004, Romania fulfilled the political criteria. It had also consolidated and deepened the stability of its institutions. However, the report suggested, the effectiveness of governmental and judiciary reforms was dependent on Romania's ability to effectively implement the changes.
- December – Closure of the accession negotiations. The European Summit's conclusions supported Romania's accession in 2007. The European Council also asserted that Romania would meet all of the requirements of membership by the planned date of accession, provided it continued its efforts to that end and completed all necessary reforms and commitments undertaken, in particular important commitments regarding Justice, 'Competition' and Environment.
2005 April 25 – signing of the Accession Treaty in Luxembourg: Romania and Bulgaria signed the Treaty of Accession to the EU. The final act states that: Romania and Bulgaria will join EU on 1 January 2007.
2006 May 16 - an EU report to the European Parliament on the entry of Romania and Bulgaria said it was still possible for Romania to enter on schedule but listed areas in which progress had to be made to meet the target date. For Romania, this was in the areas of food safety and setting-up agencies to pay EU farm aids. (ref)
2006 September 26 - The final monitoring report on Romania by the European Commission recommended accession on January 1, 2007. A final vote in the European Council finalised this in October; it was anticipated there would be no further obstacles to accession.
2007 January 1 - Romania became a member of the EU.

Public opinion

Public opinion polls in Romania indicate 70% of the population are in favour of accession to the European Union. However, the rest of the EU's population has a less positive view of Romania's accession, with an approval rate of only 45% (Eurobarometer poll).

Effect on the future direction of the EU

Romania's strategic geopolitical location will influence the EU's policy towards its relations with all of Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Turkey, and Asia. In the Southeast European Cooperative Initiative (SECI), Romania has an opportunity to demonstrate its leadership in the region.
The objective of joining the EU has also influenced Romania's regional relations. As a result, Romania has imposed visa regimes on a number of states, including Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Serbia, Montenegro, Turkey and Moldova.
Officials consider Romania to be both a part of Central Europe and a part of SEE. This reflects the Romanian government's dual ambitions today of strengthening Romania's chances of Euro-Atlantic integration while also being seen as a leader and a zone of stability and democracy in its immediate neighborhood.

Effect on Moldova

Having been part of Romania until 1940, Moldova is among the countries that are perhaps most affected by the accession of Romania into the EU. Since 1991, both in Romania and Moldova, there has been a slow-going effort towards a union or perhaps even unification of the two countries. Now that Romania is part of the European Union, this unification would necessarily involve acceptance of Moldova into the EU as well - something that has so far been seen as unlikely by EU officials.
According to Romanian laws, any Moldovan with Romanian origins can claim Romanian citizenship. All one needs is to show that one of his or her parents or grandparents lived in Moldova in 1940. This makes all Moldovans except Soviet-era immigrants - around 70% of population = 3 000 000- eligible for Romanian passports. At least 300,000, and possibly many more, Moldovans submitted applications for a Romanian passport in the last months of 2006. With the inclusion of Romania into the EU, these passports would allow them to travel and seek jobs in the EU countries. However, since 2001, due to changes in the Romanian law, significant bureaucratic bariers have slowed down this process to a mere trickle: no more than a few hundred Romanian citizenships have been granted each year, and even for the applications submitted before 2006 the processing period is estimated to be about 70 years.

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