Brussels, 06/03/2013 (Agence Europe) - Bulgaria and Romania will have to be patient before they can join the Schengen zone, as their counterparts are most definitely not ready to let them join the club. This Thursday 6 March, the home affairs ministers and their representatives will meet in Brussels for a meeting which will be virtually denuded of its substance, as no decision is anticipated on the expansion of the Schengen zone or on Schengen governance, the two texts on which, covering such issues as the possibility of bringing back border controls under certain circumstances, are still stuck between the European Council and the European Parliament.
As regards the enlargement of the Schengen zone, the German Home Affairs Minister, Hans-Peter Friedrich, set the tone at the beginning of this week by warning the two candidates that Germany would oppose any request made by them for a decision. In a fairly strongly worded article published in Spiegel, the Minister said that Bucharest and Sofia were not fighting corruption with enough determination. Moreover, Germany is by no means the only country opposed to the accession of Romania and Bulgaria, a source indicated on Wednesday. “There is no consensus for the time being, nobody wants to make the decision at the moment”, this source told us, adding that “many of the member states have concerns”. There is clearly “a political element which has caused a problem”, this source repeated. Romania experienced a serious institutional crisis in the summer of 2012 and Bulgaria today also finds itself in a period of instability due to the resignation of Prime Minister Borisov. But the two countries have also been taxed with recurrent issues of corruption and a lack of independence on the part of certain institutions, such as the Supreme Court. Both countries are also subject to close supervision by the Commission under the Mechanism for Cooperation and Verification. According to one source, the ministers may still try to keep a positive tone towards this enlargement, possibly by promising the two candidates that they will return to the dossier subsequently, as a sort of consolation prize, even though “it will probably not be discussed again under the Irish Presidency”, a source added (our translation throughout).
For the rest, ministers are in any case expected to adopt a formal decision on the second-generation Schengen Information System (SIS), which will be up and running on 9 April 2013, after years of delay. They will also hear from Commissioner Cecilia Malmström, who will present them with her “Smart Borders” package, which was presented on Thursday 28 February and which is designed to make it easier for regular travellers to enter and leave the EU, but which is already highly controversial at the European Parliament, with certain groups likening it to a “technological Big Brother” on the borders of the EU. Over lunch, the ministers will discuss the current migratory pressure on Europe, according to the Irish Presidency, particularly the Syrian refugee crisis. The European coordinator for the fight against terrorism, Gilles de Kerchove, will take stock of the security situation in the Sahel and Maghreb.
As regards the justice element, on Friday the European ministers and representatives will again discuss the reform of data protection, in talks which are expected to focus, amongst other things, on the flexibility to be given to the public sector or the possibilities of applying the rules in accordance with a more risk-based approach. They will also discuss recent proposals on euro counterfeiting. A decision is also expected in which the ministers will confirm the recently reached agreement on the recognition of protection orders under civil law, adding to a directive already adopted covering the penal plank. These protection orders will follow the victims (such as the victims of domestic violence) wherever they go in the EU. (SP/transl.fl)