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Bulgaria, Romania issue common declaration to join the Schengen area
Bulgaria and Romania have issued a joint declaration regarding the accession of the two countries to the Schengen area, in Brussels, at the meeting of the Justice and Home Affairs Council (JHA), asking for the topic related to the two countries' accession to the Schengen Zone to be resumed as soon as there exist the prerequisites for the unanimity required for taking a decision.
The declaration states that Bulgaria and Romania have fulfilled the requirements for Schengen accession long ago and there is no reason for further delay. "We have a common position and a common declaration with Romania concerning Schengen. We say it once more that the two countries have met all conditions and there is no reason the accession process to be halted or suspended. This is a step in the right direction. Stating clearly that position, and forming a common position will enable us to be stronger and to defend this position to those EU member states that still have any doubt for Bulgaria and Romania, and this is a process that must happen in the near future," Deputy Prime Minister and interior Minister Tsvetlin Yovechv said, quoted by FOCUS News Agency.
The German Minister of Home Affairs, Hans-Peter Friedrich, on Thursday stated, when he arrived at the JHA Council meeting, that Romania and Bulgaria have made significant progress in the reforms monitored through the Mechanism of Verification and Cooperation (MCV), but insufficient from the viewpoint of the legal conditions required for entering the Schengen Zone.
‘In our opinion the moment is not here yet to eliminate the control at the borders of these two countries. We will receive in January the country reports and it is already a known fact that there were made significant progresses in terms of reforms in this field, but still insufficient from the viewpoint of the legal conditions required for entering the Schengen Zone', said Hans-Peter Friedrich.
With respect to the establishment of a later date for taking a decision (editor's note - regarding Romania's and Bulgaria's accession to the Schengen Zone), he specified that ‘for now I can't say when the right moment will come'.
Moreover, the Ministers of Justice of Denmark and Sweden, who were among the traditional supporters of Romania's and Bulgaria's Schengen aspirations, reaffirmed on Thursday, upon arrival at the JHA Council, their supportive position, although in the case of Sweden there appeared some reserves in the meantime too.
The Swedish Minister of Justice, Beatrice Ask, said that the country she represents appreciated the fact that Romania and Bulgaria already meet the accession criteria, but she added that ‘there are certain concerns of member states that need to be observed'. ‘It is just too early, we have to discuss this more', said Beatrice Ask.
Prime Minister Victor Ponta on Wednesday asked the Minister of Interior, Radu Stroe, who is participating in the JHA meeting to tell his European counterparts that Romania is prepared for the Schengen Accession and it doesn't need a new date to be fixed.
‘The government delegates you to tell all our European colleagues that we are perfectly prepared for Schengen, that all that depended on us is already done and they should do what depends on them whenever they please. We don't need a new date [...] we don't need to here 'wait for next time'. When they finished with all their national elections, with all the problems, then we will be ready to enter the Schengen', the Prime Minister told the Minister of Interior at the beginning of the government meeting.