Brussels warns EU hopeful Romania over child adoptions

24 February 2004
Brussels warns EU hopeful Romania over child adoptions

24 February 2004

The European Commission issued a barely-veiled warning to Romania

Tuesday to adopt new child protection laws to get its troubled EU

membership bid back on track.

With EU lawmakers demanding Brussels break off talks with Bucharest

because of the unchecked adoption of Romanian children by Western

couples, the EU executive stepped up its warnings to the Balkan country.

"We have been saying for weeks now that the highest priority for Romania

is to adopt comprehensive legislation on the protection of children,"

said Jean-Christophe Filori, a commission spokesman for enlargement

issues.

"We're not talking here about quotas of cotton or something. We're

talking about children. This is a matter of human rights," he told

reporters.

Romania, along with Bulgaria, is hoping to join the EU in 2007, in the

bloc's next planned enlargement following the entry of 10 more member

states in May. It is hoping to wrap up the accession talks by the end of

this year.

But Bucharest's bid has run into trouble at the European Parliament,

where lawmakers have repeatedly criticised a lack of progress in key

areas.

The parliament's rapporteur on Romania, Emma Nicholson, has called for

the commission to break off accession talks with the country,

criticising in particular the adoption of Romanian children by couples

in wealthy EU member states.

Romanian Prime Minister Adrian Nastase is likely to face tough

questioning during regular talks in Brussels Wednesday with EU

commission chief Romano Prodi and Enlargement Commissioner Guenter

Verheugen.

Nastase's government is under pressure from Brussels to speed up reforms

in several areas including administrative capacity, the fight against

corruption and reform of the judiciary.

Filori said the commission took no position on whether international

adoptions should be allowed.

"That is not the point here. The point is that in Romania, you don't

have proper legislation on the protection of children which is in line

with the standards set by the UN and the various international

conventions," he said.

"In this framework (of proper legislation), you can imagine a new

adoption system."

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