Romania and Bulgaria will join the EU at the set date of January 1, 2007, but will face some of the strictest terms ever applied to new member states, the Financial Times reports in its Tuesday edition.

Bulgaria will particularly affected by the most serious monitoring process and may receive financial and judicial sanctions (EU non-acceptance of judicial bountaries) unless it proves serious in its fight against organized crime and high level corruption, the newspaper reports.

But Romania is not exempt from such a threat. As the head of the Romanian Open Society Foundation Renate Weber says, Romania’s judicial decisions may not be recognized either.

According to Financial Times, Olli Rehn, the EU Enlargement Commissioner, and EC head Jose Manuel barroso will warn Bulgarian PM Sergei Stanishev on Tuesday, September 5, that his country would face the strictest monitoring ever applied to a EU candidate state.

And it says the two EU officials agreed to reject the idea of a postponed accession as it would discourage the pace of rejorm in the two countries.