T K Vogel — research & analysis

The accession of Romania and Bulgaria to the European Union on Jan. 1, 2007, is unlikely to rouse much enthusiasm on the part of the union’s 25 current members. In fact, the two Balkan republics will be lucky to make their date with history: A safeguard clause in their accession treaties allows the EU to postpone their entry by one year if preaccession reform is deemed insufficient. This possibility has just been brought a step closer by recent developments in Bucharest and Sofia-developments that may yet turn the EU’s generic enlargement fatigue into all-out exasperation with the two would-be members.