Brussels, 20/01/2012 (Agence Europe) - The president of Romania, Traian Basescu, expressed disappointment on Thursday 19 January that Romania was not yet part of Schengen and criticised the restrictions on Romanian workers in nine EU member states during a speech to diplomats in Romania.
The Romanian president said he was surprised that after having raised the question at two European summits in a row (in October and December 2011), the decision about Romania and Bulgaria joining Schengen is still in deadlock despite the fact that the situation is now clear and all the conditions for the Council giving the go ahead have been met.
Bulgaria and Romania joined the EU in January 2007 and were initially due to join the Schengen Area in March 2011, but this was vetoed by Germany and France, followed in September 2011 by the Netherlands and Finland. Since then, a two-stage compromise has been agreed upon, but the Netherlands still opposes it.
The European summit made a number of pledges in October and December 2011, promising to find a solution by March 2012, but a source suggests that no great changes are expected until EU interior ministers receive a report from the European Commission on the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism (CVM), a report expected next month. Basescu says he is certain that a European Commission report on corruption and judicial reform in Romania will be positive and is awaiting tangible proposals from the Commission on future perspectives for the surveillance mechanism.
On Monday, the Romanian justice minister, Catalin Predoiu, came to Brussels to argue the case for the CVM ending in July 2012, when the European Commission will be publishing its annual report on the CVM in Romania and Bulgaria.
Denmark, which chairs the EU Council of Ministers, has promised to do what it can to get all the Schengen countries to agree to the two-stage approach, but is taking a cautious line because the CVM report in July will have an important impact on countries still opposed to Bulgaria and Romania joining Schengen.
In Berlin on Wednesday 18 January, the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, said that the two countries will soon be able to join Schengen. She was speaking after a meeting with the Bulgarian prime minister, Boris Borissov, and commented on Bulgaria's progress in this domain, which she hopes will continue. Merkel said that all the member states are determined to find a solution. (SP/transl.fl)