Publication

This paper discusses the accession dilemma of the European Union vis-à-vis Bulgaria and Romania and possibilities of accession postponement. The paper also outlines post-accession measures to discipline disinclined political elites, namely three provisions in the accession treaty. The author describes how such provisions provide the legal basis for taking protective measures against Bulgaria and Romania in matters of the economy, the internal market and in the area of justice, security and liberty, for three years after accession. The paper concludes by stating that the mechanisms for influencing the reform patterns of the two countries post-accession exist, but are much weaker compared to the conditionality applied prior to accession.