The European Parliament (EP) on Wednesday approved the accessions of Bulgaria and Romania into the European Union (EU), paving the way for the sixth round of EU enlargement.

The EP -- meeting in Strasbourg, France -- voted 522 to 70 in favor of Bulgaria with 69 abstentions, and 497 to 93 in favor of Romania with 71 abstentions.

Having been approved by the EP, the EU is now expected to sign accession treaties with the two eastern European countries on April 25 opening the way for them to join the current 25-member bloc on Jan. 1, 2007.

Signing the treaty does not, however, give the candidate pair a cast-iron guarantee of membership in 2007. So-called "super safeguard clauses" are built in to allow a one-year joining delay if the two countries fail to make major reforms including curbing corruption and reorganizing agriculture.

"Both countries meet the conditions for entry ...and we send a clear message that the two countries can be part of the 25," Elmar Brok, president of the EP foreign affairs committee, told a press conference after the votes.

But Brok warned that both countries should "do their homework" before being allowed to become full EU members.

Since the two countries lag behind in various reforms like those in judicial and administrative sectors, the EU's executive, the European Commission (EC) has vowed to closely monitor reform progress.

The EC is to issue a progress report in November and will decide through a series of reviews whether the two countries should join on time or one year later.

(Xinhua News Agency April 14, 2005)