Romania and Bulgaria join EU, bringing bloc to 27 members

SOFIA, Bulgaria: Bulgaria and Romania — two ex-communist nations from one of the poorest corners of Europe — joined the European Union on Monday to bring the bloc's membership to 27 nations.

As a military band played the anthems of Bulgaria and the EU, officers hoisted the two flags in front of the St. Sophia church, whose ancient foundations date back to the 6th century.

"This is a day of historical justice, because Bulgarians have always been Europeans in spirit and identity," Bulgarian President Georgi Parvanov told about 2,000 people who attended the elaborate military ceremony.

"Bulgaria will be a stable, predictable and consistent member of the EU," Parvanov told a group of visiting European politicians that included EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn, EU parliament president Josep Borrell, and the foreign ministers of Germany, Austria, Greece and Romania.

In Bucharest, Romanian President Traian Basescu hailed the end of the difficult path to membership that began in 1995.

"It was hard, but we arrived at the end of the road. It is the road of our future. It is the road of our joy," Basescu said, prompting cheers from the crowd at University Square.

Bulgaria and Romania officially joined the EU at midnight to joyous fireworks celebrations in the two capitals, Sofia and Bucharest, that drew tens of thousands of New Year's Eve revelers.

Within hours, Bulgarian officials removed customs barriers at 15 border crossing with Greece and Romania, opening Bulgarian roads to EU trade.

But controls at Bulgaria's borders with Turkey, Serbia and Macedonia were strengthened in one sign of the pressure on the EU's newest members to pursue the reforms needed to match EU standards.

"We all know that the road to full integration into European structures has not yet come to an end," German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said in a statement. "This requires more efforts from the two countries, but will make sure that Bulgaria and Romania's EU entry will be a success and that the older 25 members will also benefit from it."

Both countries must report to the EU every six months on progress in reforms to curb corruption and streamline their judiciaries — or risk losing a chunk of economic aid.

President Georgi Parvanov and EU Parliament President Josep Borrell were to attend a gala celebration at the National Palace of Culture. Borrell, Steinmeier and Rehn helped Romanian leaders raise the EU flag in Bucharest on Sunday.

Many in the two countries said they were pinning their hopes on a better future with EU rules and aid.

But some were cautious about what EU membership would mean for them.

"Bulgaria will suffer economically — or better to say, people will have very low wages compared to EU standards," said Sofia resident Hristo Hristov. "They shut down nuclear plants that brought Bulgaria millions per day. So I think Bulgaria-EU is not good news for us."

Bulgaria mothballed two Russian-made reactors at its only nuclear plant in the waning hours Sunday before joining the EU, ceding to an EU request over safety.

Both countries have reported strong economic growth in recent years, but salaries remain low by western European standards. In Bulgaria, the average monthly wage is €180 (US$235); in Romania, about €305 (US$400).

In Bulgaria, many wore ribbons to show solidarity with five Bulgarian nurses sentenced to death in Libya on charges they intentionally infected more than 400 Libyan children with HIV, despite evidence that the children were infected before the medical workers began working at the hospital.

The EU's Rehn and Borrell voiced solidarity with the Bulgarian nurses.

"I want to express the full solidarity of the European Union with the Bulgarians who were recently unacceptably sentenced by a Libyan court," Rehn said in Sofia. "You are not alone. The EU is with you," he said.

"We will go on fighting for the release of the nurses and we will then celebrate together with them," Stanishev told revelers in Sofia's Battenberg Square.

Romania and Bulgaria bring 30 million new people into the European Union, bringing the bloc's total population to half a billion.

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Associated Press writer Alison Mutler in Bucharest, Romania, contributed to this story.