Bulgaria and Romania were still not presenting convincing enough results from their campaigns against corruption and organised crime, France press agency commented based on a preliminary report by the European Commission due to be published on November 6.

Although a lot had been done, there was still room for progress in this sphere, the report said.

The report focuses its attention mainly on the Balkan countries applying for membership in the EU – Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Albania, Macedonia and Turkey, Dnevnik daily reported.

According to the report, the EU would not accept new members in the next few years.

Brussels does not consider any of the former-Soviet countries as a potential member of the EU in the foreseeable future. According to the report, the Balkan countries and Turkey can expect to become members in a long-term perspective.

The European Commission says reforms in these countries are taking place slowly and they do not move actively enough towards meeting the EU requirements. A lot of them suffer from corruption and lack of independence of judicial institutions.