REFORMS, DEMOCRATIZATION AND ANTI-CORRUPTION IN ROMANIA AND BULGARIA: TEN YEARS OF EU MEMBERSHIP

Romania and Bulgaria remain related both through the delayed timing of accession to the EU and post-accession conditionality. On a symbolic level, the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism on the independence of the judiciary and fight against corruption (and organized crime in Bulgaria) singles the two countries out among the EU members as political systems that are still transitioning, progressing towards established democracies.