Brussels, 02/03/2012 (Agence Europe) - As was expected, and because of the continuing reservations of the Netherlands, member states decided on Friday 2 March once again to postpone their decision on extending the free movement Schengen area to a later date, promising in the conclusions of the summit to take a decision in September 2012 at the meeting of home affairs ministers. The Council, then, has brought further disappointment for Romania and Bulgaria, still under pressure from the Netherlands to do more on reform of the legal systems and on tackling corruption. The mention of a specific date in the conclusions is seen by some delegations, however, as a promising sign, and perhaps even the end of the tunnel for the two countries. German Chancellor Angela Merkel sees “progress in the stipulation of the month of September”, she said on Friday after the summit, and a “desire to press on”.
France, too, says that a little step forward has been taken and that positive news might be given in September, suggesting a possible two-phase accession by the two countries to the Schengen area: initially, the opening of air and maritime borders, followed later by land borders. “It is impossible to know what will happen, nor can it be ruled out that the Netherlands might once again veto the agreement”, said a French spokesman, but, he went on, “there are nevertheless hopeful signs”.
Officially, the Netherlands is standing by its position: reference to a decision in September does not prejudge the outcome. The Hague still wants two positive reports from the Commission on the progress with reforms in the two countries (cooperation and verification mechanism - CVM - reports). An unfavourable report in July could again see Romanian and Bulgarian hopes dashed.
In the meantime, in their conclusions, member states noted that the two countries had fulfilled all the legal conditions for joining the Schengen area, and recognised “the continuous efforts undertaken” by Bucharest and Sofia. The Council also called for home affairs ministers to identify and implement measures, between now and September, which would contribute to the successful enlargement of the Schengen area to include Romania and Bulgaria.
This decision was not enough to satisfy the two main players, however. Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov is reported in the Bulgarian media as having slammed the apparent clout of the PVV party of Geerd Wilders, which is propping up the ruling Dutch coalition and which is “torturing the European Council”. (SP/AN/transl.rt)