Buzek Hopes for Compromise on Bulgaria, Romania's Schengen Entry

EP President, Jerzy Buzek, has stated he hopes that Bulgaria and Romania will enter the Schengen agreement as soon as possible. Photo by EPA./BGNES

President of the European Parliament, Jerzy Buzek, has stated that a compromise solution will be found for Bulgaria and Romania's entry to the Schengen zone in the next months.

In an interview for the Romanian newspaper "Adevarul", Buzek has stated that the two countries are obliged to fulfill the requirements for entering the Schengen zone.

He has also noted that there was too much tension on the matter, the Bulgarian News Agency reported.

Buzek has told "Adevarul" that the Hungarian EU Presidency is responsible for Bulgaria and Romania's Schengen accession and has expressed certainty that it would handle this task successfully.

However, he pointed out that there are over 700 MEPs and 27 EU Commissioners among the 27 EU member states, who all have different opinions, but who discuss and agree on the right decisions.

When asked whether the Schengen report could be connected to the monitoring via the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism, imposed on Bulgaria and Romania, Buzek has stated that there should not be a connection between them.

He noted, however, that the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism is an efficient tool and that the two countries have benefited from it.

The EP President also expressed hope that the Hungarian EU Presidency will not postpone the decision for Bulgaria and Romania's Schengen entry.

In his words, a delay of several months from the initial date, which was March, would not be a big problem. He reiterated his hope that the two countries will enter the Schengen agreement as soon as possible.

In the last weeks of 2010 and the beginning of 2011, key EU member states - most notably France, Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, Finland - declared their opposition to the Schengen accession of the two Balkan states, saying it would be premature as they still face issues with the implementation of the Schengen requirements with respect to controlling what will become their external EU/Schengen borders.

What is more, since December 2010 the Interior Ministers of France and Germany as well as France's EU Affairs Minister Laurent Wauquiez have voiced additional criticism with respect to Bulgaria and Romania as far as the progress in their judicial reform and rule of law is concerned.

They have demanded that the European Commission's post-EU accession monitoring of the two newcomers under the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism (most notably EC's annual progress reports expected in July) should be taken into account when deciding upon Bulgaria and Romania's Schengen fitness.

In spite of the assurances made by the government in Sofia that Bulgaria will be fully qualified for Schengen accession by March 2011, it is virtually impossible that Bulgaria and Romania will be approved for entry according to the original deadline.

Bulgarian Foreign Minister Nikolay Mladenov has recently mentioned he hoped that Bulgaria will make it into Schengen by the end of 2011, which appears to be a more plausible timeline.

We need your support so Novinite.com can keep delivering news and information about Bulgaria! Thank you!