se times
01/12/2010
The two countries are being urged to boost judicial reforms and strengthen their borders before they get the OK to join the EU's visa-free zone
By Paul Ciocoiu for Southeast European Times in Bucharest – 01/12/10
The two countries are being urged to boost judicial reforms and strengthen their borders before they get the OK to join the EU's visa-free zone
By Paul Ciocoiu for Southeast European Times in Bucharest – 01/12/10
European officials are demanding that Romania and Bulgaria prove they have made real progress in reforming their justice systems, under scrutiny from the European Commission (EC) through the Co-operation and Verification Mechanism (MCV), before getting the green light to join the 25-member Schengen zone.
The latest and the clearest warning came from the French President Nicolas Sarkozy.
"I know the Commission is still working with Romania and Bulgaria who are making considerable progress. Let's wait for this process to end before establishing the accession date," Sarkozy said at a press conference during NATO's November summit in Lisbon. He said France's position is shared by Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany.
"We are simply saying they will join [Schengen] when the problems are settled," he said.
The French leader also urged the two countries to secure their frontiers before joining the visa-free zone.
"If the two countries become Schengen members, they also become the guardians of Europe's borders … That means their border problems must be solved before their accession. If this border problem is not settled -- for instance the one concerning the Romanians and the Moldovans -- the issue becomes the problem of all the Schengen member states," Sarkozy said, referring to the citizenship Romania has been granting to Moldovans.
Sarkozy's words echoed in other circles across Europe. The new Dutch ruling coalition between the liberals and the Christian Democrats also linked Romania and Bulgaria's Schengen accession with progress in the field of justice.
"In the context of Europe, the government will argue for the inclusion of the two-yearly reports on corruption and legal reform in Romania and Bulgaria in the Schengen evaluation of these two countries. If these reports show that they do not meet the strict criteria, the Netherlands will not support the full accession of Romania and Bulgaria to Schengen and abolition of the internal border controls in the EU, and Bulgaria and Romania will not be admitted to Schengen," the coalition agreement reads.
Another warning came from Martin Schultz, leader of the Socialist group in the European Parliament, who said France and Germany might object to the two countries' accession because of issues surrounding migrant Roma, and because of concerns that a flood of workers would emigrate to other parts of the EU in a search for jobs.
"Let's be honest, when there is opposition from two big countries, it is unlikely the accession will be submitted for a vote in 2011," Schultz said, according to Bulgarian public radio.
Faced with a change in tone in Europe, Romanian Justice Minister Catalin Predoiu urged more sustained efforts on the part of Bucharest.
"We believe Romania has to proactively, firmly and persuasively promote its arguments in order to keep the Schengen accession calendar. The accession crucially depends on convincing the European partners we have the capacity to manage the Schengen procedures without distortions in border controls due to corruption phenomena," he said.
The latest and the clearest warning came from the French President Nicolas Sarkozy.
"I know the Commission is still working with Romania and Bulgaria who are making considerable progress. Let's wait for this process to end before establishing the accession date," Sarkozy said at a press conference during NATO's November summit in Lisbon. He said France's position is shared by Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany.
"We are simply saying they will join [Schengen] when the problems are settled," he said.
The French leader also urged the two countries to secure their frontiers before joining the visa-free zone.
"If the two countries become Schengen members, they also become the guardians of Europe's borders … That means their border problems must be solved before their accession. If this border problem is not settled -- for instance the one concerning the Romanians and the Moldovans -- the issue becomes the problem of all the Schengen member states," Sarkozy said, referring to the citizenship Romania has been granting to Moldovans.
Sarkozy's words echoed in other circles across Europe. The new Dutch ruling coalition between the liberals and the Christian Democrats also linked Romania and Bulgaria's Schengen accession with progress in the field of justice.
"In the context of Europe, the government will argue for the inclusion of the two-yearly reports on corruption and legal reform in Romania and Bulgaria in the Schengen evaluation of these two countries. If these reports show that they do not meet the strict criteria, the Netherlands will not support the full accession of Romania and Bulgaria to Schengen and abolition of the internal border controls in the EU, and Bulgaria and Romania will not be admitted to Schengen," the coalition agreement reads.
Another warning came from Martin Schultz, leader of the Socialist group in the European Parliament, who said France and Germany might object to the two countries' accession because of issues surrounding migrant Roma, and because of concerns that a flood of workers would emigrate to other parts of the EU in a search for jobs.
"Let's be honest, when there is opposition from two big countries, it is unlikely the accession will be submitted for a vote in 2011," Schultz said, according to Bulgarian public radio.
Faced with a change in tone in Europe, Romanian Justice Minister Catalin Predoiu urged more sustained efforts on the part of Bucharest.
"We believe Romania has to proactively, firmly and persuasively promote its arguments in order to keep the Schengen accession calendar. The accession crucially depends on convincing the European partners we have the capacity to manage the Schengen procedures without distortions in border controls due to corruption phenomena," he said.
The EC, meanwhile, says Schengen accession is being evaluated according to strictly predefined criteria. MCV and the accession talks are two parallel processes, Cecilia Malmstrom, European commissioner for Home Affairs, said last week.
Romanian analysts are reading between the lines.
"Bucharest has been very eager lately to get rid of the MCV, but the latest EC report on justice shows there are slim chances of getting to that point since the document was very critical of Romania's performance in the field of justice," Romania Libera justice editor Cristian Ciuperca told SETimes.
"By linking the Schengen accession to the end of the MCV, Sarkozy takes the two countries' objective to the remote future and postpones it for an indefinite period of time. His statements are even more serious than what his government used to warn us about, that the Schengen accession could be decided only next summer when the next EC report is out."
This content was commissioned for SETimes.com.
Romanian analysts are reading between the lines.
"Bucharest has been very eager lately to get rid of the MCV, but the latest EC report on justice shows there are slim chances of getting to that point since the document was very critical of Romania's performance in the field of justice," Romania Libera justice editor Cristian Ciuperca told SETimes.
"By linking the Schengen accession to the end of the MCV, Sarkozy takes the two countries' objective to the remote future and postpones it for an indefinite period of time. His statements are even more serious than what his government used to warn us about, that the Schengen accession could be decided only next summer when the next EC report is out."
This content was commissioned for SETimes.com.
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