Bulgaria, Romania Not Closer to Schengen after Dutch PM Resignation - Expert

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte seen during a press conference in The Hague, 21 April 2012. EPA/BGNES

Bulgaria and Romania's bids to join the Schengen Agreement are not likely to receive a green light by the Netherlands ahead of the country's early elections in the fall, a Dutch expert reckons.

The parties that are key for changing the Dutch stance on Bulgaria and Romania's Schengen entry have solid opinions on the issue, according to Adriaan Schout, Deputy Director of the Netherlands Institute for International Relations.

A positive development on the two EU newcomers' bids to join Schengen would be unlikely if an interim cabinet is formed in the Netherlands, Schout has told the Bulgarian Telegraph Agency.

The expert believes that the Dutch parliament may support Bulgaria and Romania's Schengen accession bids if it sees a positive Co-operation and Verification Mechanism report on the two countries in July.

Dutch PM Mark Rutte resigned on Monday after talks with Geert Wilders' far-right Freedom Party on extra cutbacks worth billions of EUR fell apart.

Some Bulgarian and Romanian politicians have blamed their country's failure to join the Schengen Agreement on the Dutch cabinet's dependence on PVV. The Netherlands is currently the only EU member state blocking the two Balkan countries' Schengen bids.

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