Jose Manuel Durao Barroso and Olli Rehn welcome Romania and Bulgaria into EU

European Commission President Jose Manuel Durao Barroso and European Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn welcomed Romania and Bulgaria into the European Union during an event staged by the European Commission on Thursday in Brussels, to mark the two countries’ EU entry on Jan. 1, 2007.

Barroso told those present in front of St. Madeleine Church that the event was taking place barely hours before the beginning of the European Council meeting that will welcome the two countries officially into the EU.

On behalf of the European Commission and on my behalf, I address the two countries a very simple message: We are very glad to welcome you into our common house and we wish you a warm welcome, Barroso said. He ended his speech by telling Romanians and Bulgarians “Welcome home” in Romanian and Bulgarian.

Enlargement Commissioner Rehn said he was “very proud” to see that the two countries have attained their goal of joining the EU. He highlighted the efforts made by Romania and Bulgaria during the accession process and stressed such efforts should continue after the accession as well. “I wish you a warm welcome”, Rehn said.

Romania’s and Bulgaria’s EU entry was marked symbolically at Thursday’s event by a huge gingerbread map of the EU to which Romanian President Traian Basescu and Prime Minister Calin Popescu-Tariceanu and Bulgarian Premier Sergey Stanishev added the gingerbread maps of Romania and Bulgaria respectively.

Also on this occasion, the European Commission and MTV Music Television launched the “Biggest human chain in the world” in which the people in united Europe’s capital held their hands and then others are to join over the Internet.

Romanian band SISTEM and Bulgarian band TE played at the end of the event. ROMPRES