Foreign Affairs

Romania’s Entry Into The EU

When Emma was European Parliament’s Rapporteur for Romania, between 1999 and 2004, she offered qualified support for Romania to join the European Union. She made it very clear to the Romanian authorities that a lot more work was needed to be done before EU membership could become a reality.  She was particularly critical about the state of the child protection system and the corrupting effect that the international adoption industry was having on the emergence of social services at the local level.  This criticism led to a fundamental reform process in the child welfare sector

In March 2004 Emma presented her last report on Romania’s EU accession, a report which was approved by  an overwhelming majority of MEPs from all political parties. That report gave Romania a decisive boost towards the EU; it  gave praise where it was due, but stressed the urgent need to tighten up the rule of law. In particular, it highlighted the need for greater anti-corruption measures, a genuinely independent judiciary, greater media freedom and the reinforcement of basic human rights.

Romania signed the EU Accession Treaty in early 2005, and is due to join the EU on the 1st of January 2007.