Bulgaria and Romania were subjected to a degree of scrutiny unparalleled in previous enlargement stages, European Parliament (EP) rapporteur for Bulgaria Geoffrey Van Orden said.

The main reason behind the extensive and in-depth evaluation was probably enlargement anxiety and uncertainty among older member states, he said.

Making use of such modes was not right as enlargement has always been 'a vehicle of progress,' said Van Orden. Entry date delay would have failed playing any role and the European Commission took the right decision recommending on-time EU entry on January 1 2007, Van Orden said.

On September 26 the European Commission presented its final monitoring report on Bulgaria and Romania's readiness to become EU members. The EC recommended on-time accession but under strict conditions and monitoring.

Commenting on the feared mass migration of East European workers to other EU member states, Van Orden said that several countries have seen 'a century of catastrophic immigration policies.' These policies, however, did not result from EU enlargement.

Bulgaria achieved significant progress in its transition to democracy and economic stability, Van Orden said. It was key for the country now to achieve a certain degree of transparency as “citizens need to have confidence that those in authority are acting in their interest,” Van Orden said.