Brussels, 21/01/2011 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday 20 January, Finland joined France and Germany in opposing the early accession of Romania and Bulgaria to the Schengen area, AFP reports, quoting a Finnish government spokesman. “This official position was agreed last week by the committee for European affairs” which is made up of the ministers concerned, he said, and was announced on Thursday during the visit of French European Affairs Minister Laurent Wauquiez. Finnish European Affairs and Immigration Minister Astrid Thors said that Bulgaria and Romania had made progress but still had to take definite measures more effectively to tackle crime and corruption. At an informal meeting of justice and home affairs ministers in Gödöllõ, Hungary, on Thursday, German Home Affairs Minister Thomas de Maizière also restated his doubts, thereby making the French-German veto on Schengen enlargement to include Bulgaria and Romania official. (S.P./transl.rt)