European Union officials praised Bulgaria today for its preparations for EU entry next year but said things were "not perfect" and urged it to push on with reform.
The EU's executive Commission gave Bulgaria and its neighbour Romania the green light on Tuesday to join the bloc on January 1st, waiving a potential one-year delay.
But it imposed the toughest entry conditions on any EU newcomers to date and said it could deny them full membership benefits or strip them of some of the billions of euros in aid they are due unless they continued with reforms.
"Yesterday we announced the decision. Today we are commemorating. Tomorrow, let's go back to work, because there's a lot still to be done," European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso told a news conference in Sofia.
In particular, the EU says Bulgaria must improve its lumbering judiciary and crack down on graft and organised criminal groups who diplomats say have taken over major parts of Bulgaria's economy.
It must also amend its constitution to remove ambiguity about judicial independence and accountability and prove it can jail corrupt top-level officials and crime bosses.
Romania must strengthen its top court and establish an agency to identify the assets of senior officials. Both countries need to finish setting up agencies to disburse EU farm and development funds.
"I want to encourage you to continue the reforms because everything is not perfect," said EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn.
The entry of Romania and Bulgaria will swell the EU to include 27 member states, and add around 30 million people to its current population of more than 450 million.