Romania’s Schengen Accession Likely to Take Place in Two Stages

Romania has met all the criteria for their Schengen accession and the European Union supports this move.

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Valentin Țigău, 20.04.2016, 13:08

Romania and Bulgaria have definitely
met all the criteria for their Schengen accession and the European Union
supports this move. The statement was made on Tuesday by the European
Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker
at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, who said:

As regards Romania’s
accession to the Schengen area, I will repeat what I have already said before,
namely that the Commission was right to propose the accession of Romania and
Bulgaria to the Schengen area, given that these two countries have met the
accession criteria. And it should be quite elementary that if a country meets
the requirements, that country must be allowed to join Schengen.

This was Juncker’s answer to the question
regarding the stage of the two countries’ accession to this border-free area.
According to Radio Romania’s correspondent in Strasbourg, quoting diplomatic sources, the two countries’
Schengen accession might take place in two stages, starting the second half of
this year. Romania has complied with the accession criteria for years now, but it has failed to join Schengen for
political reasons, which have to do with the widespread corruption in the
country.

The Bucharest authorities have constantly emphasized the fact that the
technical criteria for accession have been fully met. It’s worth mentioning
that no other candidate country, except for Romania and Bulgaria, have
previously had to comply with criteria other than the technical ones. However,
the latest European reports on Romania, issued under the Cooperation and
Verification Mechanism, assessing the progress made in terms of judicial reform
and anti-corruption efforts are positive. Also, Romania has proven that,
alongside Frontex, is perfectly able to protect the EU borders.

The issue of
the Schengen area, which has been under scrutiny lately due to the wave of
migrants fleeing war zones and poverty in the Middle East and Africa, has also
been debated these days by the European radio network Euranet, which includes
Radio Romania. Provisional results of an opinion poll commissioned by Euranet
shows that 65% of citizens say the freedom of movement within the European
Union should be preserved, while 9% believe it should be restricted due to the
terrorist threat. Euranet organizes monthly debates, part of the series
Citizens’ Corner, in an attempt to get as close as possible to people’s
needs, and provide them with information on their rights, through open
dialogue.