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A treaty clause for enlargement has existed since the inception of the European Communities. Article 237 of the founding Treaty of Rome (1957) opened the possibility for any European state to apply and become a member. The legal basis for the accession of Bulgaria and Romania, as
well as other countries that formed part of the fifth enlargement, was Article 49 of the Amsterdam Treaty (TEU), which stated that EU hopefuls had to adhere to the principles of liberty, democracy, rule of law, and respect
of human rights and freedoms. It also set the main steps on the way to EU accession - submission of an application to the Council, a positive Opinion by the Commission, accession negotiations, a unanimous decision by the Member States to accept the applicant after consultation with
the European Commission and Parliament, ratification of the Accession Treaty by the Member States and the acceding country. Over consecutive rounds of enlargement, the practice of taking in new members evolved beyond the Treaty provisions into a lengthy and complicated system.
Conditions for membership were defined unilaterally by EU Member States and progress towards accession depended on annual evaluations by the Commission and the European Parliament (EP). This article turns back the clock to present the Bulgarian and Romanian experience on the road to EU accession. Bulgaria and Romania were grouped together because of their common geographical location
and the dubious course of domestic reforms in the first years of transition.
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