Romanian Ambassador to Bulgaria Hopeful for Schengen Entry

The Romanian Ambassador to Bulgaria, Anton Pacuretu. Photo by foto.agerpres

Romania and Bulgaria are making all efforts to enter the Schengen zone in March 2011, the Romanian Ambassador to Sofia, Anton Pacuretu, has announced.

During his visit to the Bulgarian city of Pleven, Pacuretu expressed hope that the two countries will soon be "where they belong," just like their acceptance to the European Union.

The ambassador said that at present, there are expert from the EU in both Bulgaria and Romania and they are reviewing what the two countries have done so far.

"We are very happy with the evaluations they have given to us," Pacuretu said.

He added that the Schengen entry is a big responsibility because the two countries should make serious commitments to the EU, especially considering the safety of the common borders of the community.

Bulgaria submitted its formal declaration of readiness in September 2007 and sent European authorities follow-up reports, penning in March 2011 as the target date for accession to the Schengen zone.

The estimates turned meaningless due to a delay in the award of a tender to produce biometric passports and lack of progress on the second generation of the EU's Schengen Information System, more commonly known as SISII.

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