Brussels, 15/11/2013 (Agence Europe) - Two weeks ahead of the Vilnius Eastern Partnership summit, the prime ministers of Moldova and Romania, Lurie Leanca and Victor Ponta, met with the president of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso, on Friday 15 November, who warned them of the dangers of populism and closed minds that can feed the rise of extremism.
On Romania and its constantly postponed membership of the Schengen area, Barroso pointed out that, as far as the Commission was concerned, both Bucharest and Sofia were ready to join Schengen, but the decision was not down to the Commission, so it was difficult to give an exact timing.
Barroso criticised political leaders for deliberately connecting the Schengen question with the fact that the labour market restrictions on Bulgarians and Romanians end on 1 January 2015, saying that the two questions were being conflated - immigration and refugees. Barroso said it was crucial that at national level, leaders explained what was at stake and the fact that the rules have to be respected. Under EU rules, member states can deport people abusing their residence rights and not complying with the income requirements, for example. He pointed out that some extremists were trying to say that Europe has totally open borders, but that is simply not true.
EU prepared to lift visa requirement for Moldova
Barroso made his comments on Friday, the same day as the European Commission decided to grant a visa-free travel scheme for Moldova, following a positive assessment of the country. The Commission notes that all the benchmarks have been met and it will soon be issuing draft legislation (after the Vilnius Summit) to lift the visa requirements. That means that Moldovans with biometric passports will be allowed to visit Schengen Area countries visa-free for up to three months (renewable). The prime minister, Lurie Leanca, expressed satisfaction, saying at a press conference that his country had been waiting for this announcement for a long time.
The Commission has assessed preparations by Ukraine and Georgia to join the visa-free travel scheme. Progress has been made in Ukraine in changing the data protection scheme, boosting judicial cooperation on law enforcement and human trafficking, but more work needs to be done on the issuing of passports and tackling corruption. Georgia is making good progress and is currently in the first phase of the action plan.
All these issues will be addressed at the Eastern Partnership summit. Asked about pressure from Russia on Moldova and other parts of what was once the soviet bloc, Barroso said that every country had the right to make their own decisions in full sovereignty and the Eastern Partnership process did not oppose anyone.
The meeting of the three men in Brussels on Friday concentrated on energy issues and the diversity of energy supplies, and addressed two gas and electricity inter-connection projects. (SP/transl.fl)