While Bulgaria and Romania's EU accession seems a done deal and it has not been treated anymore in his Thursday speech in front of the EU Parliament, Mr. Blair said that during the UK's upcoming presidency, it would focus on resolving the budget dispute and the EU's "obligations" to countries like Turkey and Croatia that hoped to become members.

The UK Prime Minister Tony Blair urged EU to go for reforming its finances and priorities and he emphasized that EU must face up to the challenges of globalization by key reforms.

He said: "It is a time to recognise that only by change will Europe recover its strength, its relevance, its idealism and therefore its support among the people."
"Ideals survive through change, they die through inertia in the face of challenge."