Brussels, 09/12/2010 (Agence Europe) - Romania and Bulgaria are not ready to join the Schengen area, French European Affairs Minister Laurent Wauquiez has said. He told the French parliament that France would not allow the “weakening of our borders and Europe's ability to manage and monitor the flow of migrants. Quite simply, what France is saying is that, of course, we are not closing the doors to Romania and Bulgaria, but basic criteria have to be met”. In this, he has adopted the stance of his predecessor Pierre Lellouche who said last month that France would try to make sure that the decision on whether the two countries can join Schengen would not be taken before summer 2011, rather than in March as the two had hoped. “The first basic criterion is that we have to be sure of our borders”, he said, pointing out that Romania does not recognise the border with Moldova. This, he went on, is an “obstacle” to Romania and Bulgaria's joining the Schengen area. “If we trust them with our borders, it is only right that we should have the necessary guarantees that these borders will be well guarded with sufficient numbers of customs officers to maintain the level of watchfulness that we have the right to expect”, he added. “At the moment, that is not the case. At present, the work is not up to scratch”, he stated, citing problems with corruption. (B.C./transl.rt)