The foreign affairs commission of the French national assembly discussed and passed Bulgaria's EU accession report.

Bulgarian ambassador to France Irina Bokova was also present at the session, Focus news agency reported.

The report shows the country reached the final stage of a process that has been going on for 10 years. Bulgaria achieved significant progress in all areas apart from reforms in the judicial system, anti-corruption measures and Roma minority integration. Over the last few years the country has shown good macroeconomic indicators and the economic growth reached five per cent.

One of the problems pointed out in the report is the weak agricultural reform that led to land fragmentation. As a result, large parts of the arable land are now unusable.

If the current pace of reforms continues, implementation of a safeguard clause would be unjustified and unnecessary, French officials said. EU accession requirements for Bulgaria should be the same as those for the 10 states that became union members in 2004.

Commission members agreed French parliament should ratify Bulgaria's accession treaty even before the summer vacation as this would encourage Bulgarian society.

British foreign affairs secretary Jack Straw also supported the country's EU accession in a letter to Foreign Affairs Minister Ivailo Kalfin.