Tag: Post-accession

Bulgaria and Romania: Ten Years of EU Membership in the Shadow of Monitoring

Eli Gateva Since joining the EU in 2007, Bulgaria and Romania have remained under unprecedented post-accession monitoring, and have achieved mixed results in addressing corruption, organised crime and judicial reform, writes Eli Gateva. She argues that both countries demonstrate the limits of the EU’s influence after accession, and that, while the EU has a role, …

On Different Tracks: Bulgaria and Romania under the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism

Eli Gateva Romania and Bulgaria both joined the EU in 2007 and became subject to an ad hoc tool created by the European Commission to evaluate the progress of the two countries. Today, however, there is a growing gap between the two states: while European Commission officials have suggested the possibility of Romania graduating out …