Bulgarian, EU Presidents to Press Netherlands on Schengen

New Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev (L) met European Council President Herman Van Rompuy on his first international visit since assuming office Sunday. Photo by the Office of the President of Bulgaria

Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev and European Council President Herman Van Rompuy vowed to try to convince the Dutch government to reverse a negative stance on Bulgaria's Schengen entry.

Thursday Plevneliev met Rompuy in his Brussels roundtrip, the first international visit since assuming office Sunday.

Rompuy expressed satisfaction at Bulgaria's Schengen progress and assured that EU institutions are in favor of Bulgaria and Romania's swift accession to the Schengen Agreement.

He said that he will include the matter in the agenda for the March European Council, should a political agreement fail to materialize until then.

On his part, the Bulgarian President said "it is not excluded" that he might make an official trip to the Hague to try to overturn the Dutch government's position.

Earlier in the day Plevneliev had received the same assurance from EC President Jose Manuel Barroso and EP President Martin Schultz, who said that the Parliament is currently working on its third resolution in support of Bulgarian and Romanian membership.

The two countries were expected to enter Schengen in the spring of 2011, but their entry was blocked by countries such as France, Germany, the Netherlands and Finland, who had worries that problems with organized crime and corruption might jeopardize safety in the Schengen Area.

At the same time, all EU member states and institutions acknowledge the fact that both Bulgaria and Romania have fully complied with Schengen entry technical requirements.

At present only the Dutch government has remained in opposition of a Bulgarian Schengen membership.

Thursday information from Danish EU Presidency sources reported that an informal sitting of EU Interior Ministers revealed that the Netherlands will keep its negative position, given a likely negative report on the Co-operation and Verification Mechanism for Bulgaria and Romania due early February.

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