The European Parliament's Civil Liberties Committee is once again criticising the fact that the Member States have been delaying Bulgaria's and Romania's accession to the Schengen area for the past seven years, despite the fact that both countries have met all the technical criteria.
By adopting Sergei Stanishev's (S&D, Bulgaria) own-initiative report on Monday 5 November by a large majority (36 votes in favour, 4 against, 1 abstention), MEPs also rejected the option of a two-stage Schengen accession, raised as early as 2011 by the EU Council and still recently by Germany's Manfred Weber, the EPP Group leader in the European Parliament and candidate for the Presidency of the European Commission.
According to Mr Stanishev, a two-step approach involves a number of risks such as “the introduction of new conditions to further delay the removal of controls at internal land borders”.
Nor is this two-step accession based on solid legal foundations. Two legal acts - one for the abolition of controls at air and sea borders, the other for land borders - would codify “legally, the current principle of double standards in the Schengen area, where Bulgaria and Romania are subject to all the obligations and responsibilities of the Schengen member states” without enjoying the benefits of free movement.
Amendments aimed at countering this position were rejected.
The Parliament will vote in plenary in December. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)