Enlargement of the European Union and "morally imperative", which reflected the desire of the EU to admit these countries as members, even though they were less developed than the Western European countries. Following this Romania and Bulgaria, though were deemed initially as not fully ready by the Commission to join in 2004, acceded nevertheless on 1 January 2007. These, like the countries joining in 2004, faced a series of restrictions as to their citizens not fully enjoying working rights on the territory of some of the older EU members. Bulgaria and Romania are not yet members of the Schengen area; however, their citizens can travel
Nuclear power in the European Union fossil fuel plants than clean renewable energies, sparking several critics. Actually, transition plans did not meet their short-term goals and will hardly meet their medium-term goals; fossil fuel prices and technology are still more efficient, cheaper and easier to implement than heavily state-subsidised solar and wind power generation. Nuclear power in the European Union Nuclear power in the European Union accounted for approximately 15% of total energy consumption in 2005. The energy policies of the European Union (EU) member countries vary significantly. As of January 2010, 14 out of 27 countries have nuclear reactors. The countries with reactors are: Belgium,