COMMISSIONER OLLI REHN A YEAR AGO ADRESSING THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT

"I want to reassure you that if the Commission judges, on the basis of its monitoring, that either Bulgaria or Romania are manifestly unprepared for membership, I will not hesitate to recommend the use of the remedial tools, including the clause allowing us to postpone accession by one year until 2008. I am convinced that the Honourable Members of the Parliament will agree to this approach. I therefore look forward to a regular dialogue with you on the implementation of Bulgaria’s and Romania’s commitments. As confirmed by President Barroso to President Borrell in a letter last week, we will seriously consider your views before issuing any recommendation in this regard, in particular after the release in November of our Comprehensive Monitoring Report on Romania’s and Bulgaria’s progress towards accession."

This is from Olli Rehn’s speech in the European Parliament in April 2005.