BULGARIA AND ROMANIA WILL JOIN THE EUROPEAN UNION ON JAN. 1, 2007 RATHER THAN IN 2008, LUXEMBOURG PRIME MINISTER JEAN-CLAUDE JUNCKER WAS QUOTED AS SAYING, ACCORDING TO REUTERS. ""ROMANIA WILL BECOME AN EU MEMBER IN JANUARY 2007," JUNCKER TOLD THE WEEKLY LE JEUDI IN AN INTERVIEW MADE AVAILABLE ON HIS GOVERNMENT'S WEB SITE ON THURSDAY. "I BELIEVE ROMANIA, WHICH HAS TO MAKE EFFORTS NOTABLY ON THE JUDICIAL SYSTEM AND THE FIGHT AGAINST CORRUPTION, WILL BE AN EU MEMBER AT THAT DATE, AS WILL BULGARIA," HE ADDED. THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION WILL RECOMMEND ON MAY 16 WHETHER THE TWO BALKAN COUNTRIES SHOULD JOIN THE EU IN 2007, OR IN 2008 TO HAVE AN EXTRA YEAR FOR MEMBERSHIP PREPARATIONS. EU LEADERS WILL DEBATE THE ISSUE IN JUNE.
