Bulgaria's EU accession on January 1 2007 was a historic victory for the line of policies kept by Bulgarian democratic forces in the past 16 years, presidential nominee Nedelcho Beronov  and vice president candidate Juliana Nikolova said.

European Commission (EC) released a report on Bulgaria's readiness to join the EU on September 26. The report recommended Bulgaria's accession to the union on January 1 2007.

Beronov said that Bulgarians had to have in mind that the EC report released on September 26 would not be the last one on Bulgaria's way to the EU.

EC recognised Bulgaria's efforts, but the report was a negative evaluation of the Cabinet's work, the two nominees said.

The unprecedented monitoring system and EC inspections every six months were evidence for this, Beronov said.

During the presentation of the September 26 report European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso said that the EC would establish strict monitoring mechanisms and could invoke the introduction of safeguard clauses in the future.

These measures were humiliating for Bulgaria's government and the ruling coalition, Beronov said.

Bulgarians should not feel humiliated because EC was their natural ally for fast and effective reforms in the juridical and administrative systems, Beronov and Nikolova said.