Bulgaria Receives French Pat on the Back for Schengen

French Interior Minister Claude Gueant (2nd L) arrives prior the Justice and Home Affairs Council meeting Monday at the EU Headquarters in Luxembourg. EPA/BGNES

Bulgaria has been commended by French Minister of Interior Claude Gueant on its efforts to fulfill criteria for joining the Schengen free travel zone within the European Council for Justice and Home Affairs.

According to a release by the Bulgarian Minsitry of Interior, Gueant stated that "no one is putting into question the deserved place of Bulgaria and Romania in Schengen," and has accepted an invitation by Bulgarian counterpart Tsvetan Tsvetanov to visit the country in the near future.

End of 2010, France led a wave of criticism against Bulgaria's and Romania's planned mid-2011 entry in Schengen, based on unresolved issues with corruption and organized crime that have little to do the technical requirements for joining.

Apart from the meeting with Minister Gueant, within the Justice and Home Affairs Council Minister Tsvetanov held bilateral talks with his counterparts from Romania, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia.

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