Romania and Bulgaria: Schengen is postponed

Bulgaria and Romania, two EU member states, will not be able to take advantage of the Schengen agreement in the nearest future. Both countries should have entered into the zone of the EU visa-free regime in 2011. However, the leading EU countries - France and Germany - consider that the accession of Bulgaria and Romania into the Schengen is prematurely. It was stated in a letter of the Interior Ministers of France and Germany Brice Hortefeux and Thomas de Maiziere to the European Commissioner for Internal Affairs Cecilia Malmström.

Corruption and crime are two major disadvantages of applicants, who, according to French and German governments, would not allow entering into the Schengen zone on schedule. Also among the key conditions for entry into the Schengen zone for Bulgaria and Romania according to the representatives of France is tightening of border and immigration control.

Romanian President Traian Basescu has already announced his opposition to such measures. Romanian news agency Novinite quoted Basescu, who claims of discrimination against his own country.

It was planned that the formal accession of Bulgaria and Romania into the Schengen zone will occur in March 2011. However, according to France and Germany, Romania and Bulgaria have not fulfilled all the conditions for the introduction of visa-free regime with EU countries.

It is worth noting that this year France, Bulgaria and Romania have already had difficulties with respect to illegal immigrants. So, in 2010, France conducted a mass expulsion of Roma, who lived in the country without official permission, to Romania and Bulgaria. At the same time, Foreign Minister of Bulgaria Nikolay Mladenov in August 2010 in an interview for Reuters hoped that the process of deportation of Gypsies would not affect the process of negotiations on the accession of his country into the Schengen zone.

It is worth noting that the process of accession to the Schengen zone has become more complicated not only for Bulgaria and Romania. So, a week ago it became known that the EU tightened the requirements on the criteria for liberalization of visa regime for Ukraine. Among the countries that now claim to be joining the Schengen zone are also Macedonia, Serbia, Bosnia, Croatia and Montenegro.

To date, the Schengen agreement on visa-free regime includes 25 countries including 22 EU member states and Switzerland, Norway and Iceland.