Brussels, Rabi Al-Awwal 15, 1432 H/Feb 18, 2011, SPA -- European Union newcomers Bulgaria and Romania still lag far behind the bloc's standards on fighting corruption and organized crime, reports released Friday showed, according to dpa. The two countries were let into the EU in 2007 despite glaring rule-of-law deficiencies, because the bloc's leaders had already fixed their entry date. But they were forced to be subject to regular screening exercises to check on their shortcomings. Four years on, neither of them has met any of the "benchmarks" set for them, the EU's executive, the European Commission, said in its latest assessments. "They are still the same as originally set (in 2007)," commission spokeswoman Pia Ahrenkilde told the German Press Agency dpa. Until the end of 2009, the commission had the power to impose sanctions if it deemed that the two countries were not making enough efforts. That led, for example, to millions of euros in aid to Bulgaria being frozen amidst suspicions of widespread embezzlement. But that faculty ended in 2010, leaving the EU executive with the ability only to make recommendations. Bulgaria was told to improve cooperation between judges and investigators, adopt a law to allow the seizure of criminal assets, establish a conflicts-of-interest watchdog and show a "track record" on convicting criminal gangsters and corrupt officials. Romania was criticized for political resistance to anti-corruption efforts - including parliament cutting funds to the National Integrity Agency and blocking investigations against a former minister - and for the slowness of its judicial system. -- SPA 20:41 LOCAL TIME 17:41 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/865739