Jubilant parties welcome Romania and Bulgaria to EU

By Staff
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BUCHAREST/SOFIA, Jan 1 (Reuters) Fireworks lit the skies and thousands of people danced at street parties across Romania and Bulgaria to celebrate the two former Soviet bloc Black Sea countries' entry to the European Union today.

There was relief that, after missing the EU's historic enlargement into eastern Europe in 2004, the two poor countries have finally made the grade and been welcomed into a bloc that is increasingly hesitant to admit new members.

Hopes for prosperity and stability were echoed in the politicians' speeches and the chatter from local residents as blue and yellow EU flags fluttered over Bucharest and Sofia.

''This is a moment of great freedom for us,'' Romania's President Traian Basescu told crowds in Bucharest's University Square as they counted down the last minutes to midnight.

''By entering the EU, we win our peace and our prosperity.'' The accession of Romania and Bulgaria will raise the EU's membership to 27, almost half of them former communist states cut off from the West by the Iron Curtain until 1989.

Other EU hopefuls such as Turkey, Albania and states in the Balkans are likely to face a long wait for membership as some Western Europeans fear the bloc may have overstretched itself.

They say enlargement may hurt their job prospects or even bring more crime if, for example, drug smuggling and people trafficking, rife around the Black Sea, spread to the West.

The EU's new borders will stretch from the Atlantic and Baltic in the west and north to the Black Sea in the southeast.

Romania -- the larger of the two -- and Bulgaria will together boost the EU's population by 30 million, to 490 million, but will add just 1 percent to its economic output.

In France, where ''enlargement fatigue'' among the public is particularly strong, President Jacques Chirac hailed the new wave of accession as a step in the reconciliation of Europe.

''Sofia and Bucharest are once again European capitals,'' he said, according to the text of a speech released by his office.

WIDESPREAD POVERTY Once laggards in ex-communist Europe's democratic transformation, Romania and Bulgaria secured EU entry by stepping up their fight against endemic graft and crime gangs.

Their economies are growing fast but are the smallest in the bloc, only a third of EU average in per capita terms. Poverty is widespread and growth is plagued by outdated infrastructure, technology and education.

EU aid should sustain development, but both countries face a daunting task to continue reforms so that progress is not hampered by inept administration, corruption and the gangs.

But analysts and diplomats say the momentum of reform has petered out and Brussels plans to monitor further efforts.

''You travelled a long and difficult road to get here.

Welcome to the European Union family,'' German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said after meeting Romanian officials.

Germany takes over the rotating EU presidency on Jan. 1 and will face the monumental task of spearheading the bloc's institutional reform which is crucial to further enlargement.

In Bulgaria, revellers talked about their hopes that Brussels would ensure the fight against the all-powerful crime gangs would continue.

''We will finally have rule of law,'' said Raya Paunova, 24.

And as rock concerts reverberated through the streets, many people, particularly Romanians who suffered one of the Soviet bloc's most oppressive regimes under dictator Nicolae Ceausescu, were emotional at putting decades of isolation behind.

''It's a moment of great happiness for me and my family,'' said Eugen Nicola, a 50-year-old welder, as he greeted Romania's Prime Minister Calin Tariceanu outside government headquarters.

''In 1989 I passed this boulevard to help dethrone the Ceausescus. Now, I am here to celebrate. Times have changed.'' Reuters DH VP0500

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