Romania and Bulgaria – together in Europe

Romanias foreign minister Titus Corlatean and his Bulgarian counterpart Kristian Vigenin join forces to press for their countries Schengen entry.

Valentin Țigău, 11.10.2013, 12:28

Romania’s foreign minister Titus Corlatean this week had a telephone conversation with his Bulgarian counterpart Kristian Vigenin about common efforts to ensure their countries’ entry into the Schengen area. The two officials reiterated the fact that both Romania and Bulgaria have met the requirements for Schengen entry and rejected “any connection between the Schengen entry and other dossiers, such as the Roma issue.”

Corlatean and Vigenin agreed to “continue efforts at European level to secure the approval of their countries’ entry into Schengen in keeping with European principles and regulations”, writes a foreign ministry press release. The release also notes that the authorities in Bucharest have repeatedly expressed hope that the EU Justice and Internal Affairs Council meeting in December will approve a phased-in entry into Schengen for the two countries.

However, the European Commission spokesman Mark Gray said on Tuesday that the report on the Mechanism for Cooperation and Verification concerning Romania would be made public at the beginning of 2014. The report, which mainly reflects progress related to the reform of the judiciary, was initially due in December 2013. A number of EU member states are waiting for the conclusions of this report before making a decision about Romania and Bulgaria’s entry into Schengen.

The issue of the Schengen entry and the full liberalisation of the European employment market for Romanians and Bulgarians were also discussed during a recent visit to London by Romania’s foreign minister. Both the Romanian official and his British counterpart William Hague acknowledged the positive contribution of the Romanians working in the UK to the development of British economy.

They also signed a joint declaration aimed at preventing possible infringements of the workers’ right to free movement inside the Union. This declaration was meant as a response to statements by some British politicians about a possible wave of Romanian immigrants ready to take the UK employment market by storm and take advantage of the country’s welfare and healthcare system after January 1st 2014.