Netherlands Confirms Opposition to Bulgaria, Romania Schengen Bids

The Netherlands has confirmed its opposition to Romania and Bulgaria's Schengen accession prior to Thursday's meeting of EU interior ministers.

"Our position is clear. We are not in favor of an accession at this moment," Dutch Immigration Minister Gerd Leers told reporters before talks with his 26 counterparts in Brussels.

Insisting on guarantees that Schengen rules are applied effectively, especially as regards the fight against corruption and organized crime, Leers outlined the following scenario: "Imagine you have a door with eight of the best locks of the world. But before that door is standing someone who lets everybody in, then you have a problem".

By saying this, Leers rejected accusations that the Dutch government applied double standards, adding new criteria to the technical parameters with which the two candidate states have already ensured compliance.

A correspondent of the Bulgarian National Radio (BNR) has said that, not only is Brussels unwilling to make a decision on the two countries' Schengen bids, but it also seeks to avoid comments on the matter, given that most of the ministers, including Bulgaria's and Romania's interior ministers, refused to give media statements.

Thursday's session of the Justice and Home Affairs Council is to shed light on the negative stance adopted by the Netherlands and Finland on the expansion of Europe's visa-free travel area.

A decision to include Bulgaria and Romania in the 25-nation Schengen area requires the unanimous agreement of all member states, meaning that the two candidates will most likely have to wait for the EU summit in October.

Bulgaria and Romania were originally expected to join the Schengen Area in March 2011 but their accession has been put off for an unknown period of time, primarily because of political opposition by key EU states focusing on their rule of law situations.

It is a common perception that both Bulgaria and Romania have fulfilled the technical requirements for Schengen accession, but their entry has been opposed on the grounds of what other members claim to be persisting problems with corruption and organized crime.

Germany, Sweden, Denmark, and Finland have been known to share the Dutch misgivings but the Netherlands appears to have become provided the most categorical "no" to Bulgaria and Romania in Schengen ahead of the much-anticipated September 22, 2011, ministerial in Brussels.

Bulgaria has already threatened "counter-measures" if its Schengen application is treated "unfairly", which boil down to "reconsidering" its support for the Schengen reform legislation.

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