Decision on Schengen bids of Romania, Bulgaria, postponed again

Wednesday, October 7, 2015 Share

France and Germany were the countries that insisted most on Romania and Bulgaria not joining the Schengen Area now and France asked for this topic not to be introduced on the agenda of the Justice and Home Affairs Council meeting this week, according to official sources.



"France was the one who set the tone and who immediately convinced Germany to join in not accepting Romania in the Schengen Area. Then followed the Netherlands and Finland, anyhow Finland had long officially held this position. In these circumstances, Romania and Bulgaria accepted this item not to be placed on the JHA Council meeting agenda, at France and Germany's suggestion. Had the accession been on the agenda and Romania received a negative vote, Romania would have had to start from zero in respect to technical procedures and that would have lasted at least one year and a half," the sources pointed out on Tuesday.



President Klaus Iohannis and Prime Minister Victor Ponta had a discussion and jointly decided to accept the postponement of discussion on Romania's accession for the time being.



After the refugee crisis, the Schengen Area will have to be rethought, which will take up at least one year and a half, even two years. Under these circumstances, according to the cited official sources, Romania has to wait until the Schengen Area resettles, after which the topic of its joining the area can be resumed.

MAE:Romania, fully prepared to enter the Schengen Area

Romania is fully prepared to enter the Schengen Area, and an accession decision would confirm that Romania is already acting like a de facto member of the Schengen Area, successfully securing a large chunk of the European Union's external borders, State Secretary with Romania's Foreign Ministry (MAE) Daniel Ionita told a conference on Tuesday called "Romania's accession to the Schengen Area - 2015."Chairman of Parliament's select joint committee on Romania's accession to the Schengen Area Titus Corlatean said Romania's accession to the Schengen Area should not be made conditional upon Romania's objective to fight against corruption, because the matters are regulated by two mechanisms that have different objectives, standards and criteria.

"Romania's stance has not changed; it has been consistent in separating the two mechanisms that have different objectives and also different standards and criteria, namely accession to the Schengen Area with the Schengen acquis. Objectively speaking, the fight against corruption, which is an important mechanism, should not be a condition for the former. We can make any link on political reasons, but that does not mean we do not have to apply the same standards for all," said Corlatean.

In his speech to the conference, Chairman of the Chamber of Deputies' Committee on Foreign Affairs Laszlo Borbely of the Hungarian Democratic Union of Romania (UDMR) criticised what he called a tergiversation of political decision to welcome Romania in the Schengen Area.

"I am currently skeptical of radical changes happening in the months to come in the EU's attitude towards Romania's accession to the Schengen Area. I am calling on all those involved — the ambassadors — to deliver the messages they have already delivered that Romania is ready on all accounts to enter the Schengen Area," said Borbely.

Chairman of the Senate's Defence Committee Marius Lucian Obreja, voiced "some political frustration' over the still non-admission of Romania to the Schengen Area.

"Ever since Romania voiced intention to enter the Schengen Area, its actions to fulfill procedures and meet conditions have been positive, and there is a feeling with Parliament today that Romania has largely done all it had to and it is qualifying for accession," said Obreja.

In their speeches to the conference, State Secretary with the Interior Ministry (MAI) Bogdan Tohaneanu and head of the Romanian General Border Police Inspectorate (IGPF) Ioan Buda said that Romania is currently fully prepared for accession to the Schengen Area and Romania is a real pole of security in the region.

"We are acting responsibly and anticipating, through national measures, potential external developments that could jeopardise Romania and EU's security. By adequate border security and the professionalization of staff we have managed to provide actual security for the EU's borders along 2,700 km that are under the jurisdiction of Romania. Yet, there should be a unitary and coordinated approach because unilateral solutions are inefficient," said Tohaneanu.

The conference was organised by the select joint committee of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate on Romania's accession to the Schengen Area, also known as the Schengen Area Committee, in partnership with the Unity and Exigency for Schengen in Romania civic group and the Romania-Next Generation Foundation.

Attending were parliamentary committee chairs, members of the select Schengen Committee of Parliament, high ranking officials from MAI, MAE and IGPF, ambassadors and diplomatic representatives of EU member states.





