Finland, France Ready to Lift Schengen Veto for Romania

The Finnish and French ministers of interior have shown their appreciation of the efforts Romania has made for meeting requirements to enter the Schengen free movement area, according to Romanian counterpart Traian Igas.

"Finish Minister of Interior Paivi Rasanen has stated that Romania has fulfilled all technical requirements for Schengen, adding that if the next progress report on Romania is positive, Finland is ready to reverse its negative stance," said Igas, as quoted by Agerpress.

In that she was joined by French counterpart Claude Gueant, who has said that France values the cooperation between Romanian and French law enforcement authorities and the progress achieved by the country in its Schengen efforts.

Finnish Minister Rasanen has also added that Finland does not want to set double standards for Schengen membership and is open to accept Romania when it is ready.

Finland, together with the Netherlands, blocked in September setting a date for the Schengen membership of Romania and Bulgaria, citing not failure meet technical requirements, but rather worries related to the management of corruption and organized crime in the two countries.

Those worries - often critiqued as setting double standards for membership - were first raised by France and Germany in the beginning of the year, which prevented the planned spring 2011 Schengen entry of the two countries.

At the European Council Sunday, Bulgarian PM Boyko Borisov revealed that Council President Herman van Rompuy has assured that member states will commit to accepting Bulgaria and Romania in 2012.