EU Charter has no link to enlargement: Romania

The accession of Romania and Bulgaria to the European Union does not depend on the ratification of the European Constitution, the Romanian Ambassador to Indonesia said.

"Our Ministry of Foreign Affairs reaffirmed on June 2, 2005, that the accession of Romania and Bulgaria to the European Union according to the schedule adopted by the European leaders and sanctioned by the signing on April 25, 2005, of the Accession Treaty does not depend on the ratification of the European Constitution," Ambassador George Savuica said in a press release sent to The Jakarta Post on Friday.

The ambassador said Romania reaffirmed its support for the ratification of the European Constitution, so that on Jan. 1, 2007, it can join the European Union in a more democratic and more efficient manner.

Nine member states, representing more than the half of the EU population have already ratified based on the provisions of the Constitution.

But the results of the referenda on the European Constitution in France and in the Netherlands will require, without any doubt, a period of reflection at the level of the European Union, the release said. -- JP