Brussels, 16/03/2011 (Agence Europe) - Luxembourg supports the accession of Romania and Bulgaria to the Schengen zone in the next few months, Luxembourg's head of diplomacy, Jean Asselborn, said in Bucharest on Tuesday, quoted by AFP, and the country “will do everything possible so that Bulgaria and Romania become Schengen members in the next months”, he said in a joint press statement with his Romanian counterpart Teodor Baconschi.
“Romania proves every day that it knows the Schengen system workings, and de facto is already part of it”, he said, going on to imply that some member states put national concerns before European policies. “We will give you our strongest support to ensure that in just a few months, this will be a bad memory and you will be members of the Schengen zone”, said Asselborn, adding that in the EU, “there are no countries with greater advantages, others with disadvantages; we're all on the same line”.
Bucharest and Sofia were initially supposed to join the Schengen free-movement area at the end of March, but France and Germany, supported by other member states, decided to take account of the political aspects of legal reform and the fight against corruption in order to give their blessing to this Schengen enlargement, a dossier which requires the unanimity of the member countries of the zone.
At this stage, a new mission will visit Bulgaria on or around 22 March to assess the last technical aspect over which Sofia has not come up to scratch: border management. It is on the basis of the results of this assessment that the Hungarian Presidency will decide - or not - to reschedule a decision on Bulgaria and Romania joining Schengen before the end of Hungary's six-month presidency. (S.P./transl.fl)