Romanian Foreign Minister Firm on Schengen Entry with Bulgaria

Romania and Bulgaria should enter the Schengen Agreeement together, Romania's Foreign Minister Teodor Baconschi has stated.

"Romania can not enter Schengen without Bulgaria, since the two states are parts of one and the same enlargement package," Baconschi said, as cited by the Romanian newspaper "Adevarul" .

The Romanian Foreign Minister was optimistic about both countries entering Europe's border-free zone in the near future. Bulgaria and Romania's Schengen accession is a priority for Hungary's EU Presidency, he pointed out.

On Monday, Hungary confirmed its commitment to Romania and Bulgaria's Schengen entry by the end of its term in June.

The European Parliament's Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs is to prepare a report on Bulgaria and Romania's Schengen readiness, which will be presented its Thursday sitting and afterwards adopted by the EP in Brussels during its sitting scheduled for February 14-17, Teodor Baconschi clarified.

In December, France together with Germany vowed to veto the entry of Bulgaria and Romania based on concerns that relate not to the legally mandated criteria, but rather to issues with corruption and crime that are dealt with by the so-called Co-operation and Verification Mechanism set up for the two EU newcomers

Subsequently, other key EU members such as 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.

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