Bulgaria and Romania must redouble their efforts to fight corruption, reduce counterfeiting and tighten their borders if their hopes of joining the European Union are to stay on track, the European Commission made clear on Tuesday.

In a hard-hitting account of the two countries’ prospects of joining the EU on schedule on January 1 2007, a Commission report said “immediate action” was needed across a range of sectors if the countries were to fulfil their obligations as prospective members.